Break
by DarkHououmon
Summary: "Think of this as payback for that little stunt you and Rudy pulled on me back at the studio. After how you publically humiliated me...you deserve this..."


Author's Note: I finally got this done. I've been working on this story since November of last year, but I have been neglecting it. I finally got around to finishing it.

This story was inspired by Racingwolf's original idea for Cryptic Investigation, before the version that is currently available to read. The main idea from the original draft that this story uses is the 'Snap is taken to a laboraty', a story plot point that was removed from Cryptic Investigation.

sss

Snap looked down at his right arm. He could still see the red marks from where Terry had jabbed him with the needle. It was clear that she had no idea what she was doing. She didn't know how to take blood properly. That didn't stop her from trying, and oh boy did it hurt. His arm ached, and the bruise that formed contrasted well against his white skin.

Needless to say, he was shaken up by the experience. He had known she was a little crazy and obsessed with exposing ChalkZone. Same thing with that nutjob, Vinnie. But to actually hurt him like that? They hadn't exactly been gentle with him during the process. And whether or not Terry meant to injure him like that was taken into consideration, the fact was that she really didn't care if she hurt him or not.

That was evident in how none of them bothered to stop the bleeding. They let the blood flow from the puncture marks. It did stop on its own well before it was too severe. But the fact that they didn't care enough to stop the bleeding...it was really telling. It gave him a sense of foreboding that, soon, things would get a lot worse. As if being kidnapped and taken to this strange building wasn't bad enough...

"What should we do with him now?"

Snap turned his head. He knew that was Vinnie's voice. He strained to see his two captors, but they were positioned behind him. He was strapped to this chair. He was unable to turn around. He was forced to relax when he found he was pulling his limbs a little too hard.

"Well we have a blood sample from him." Terry said. He heard her tap something, possibly the vial of blood she took from him forcibly. "This will prove that he's chalk. But to prove that he's real...we'll need to do something else. Something that would show those scientists that he is both chalk and real."

"Well I know one sure fire way to do that. Only living things, and things that were once alive, have skeletons, right?" Vinnie said.

Snap's heart started to race. He wasn't liking where this was going.

"So why don't we break his arm? An open fracture will show that he has bone. We can show it to the scientists. They would have to come to understand that, if he has bones, then he must have other organs as well."

Snap's eyes widened in horror and his body started to tremble. He glanced down at his arm. The ache suddenly increased. No..they couldn't do that...no...

A quick chuckle from Terry. "I like that idea. Let's do it."

No... Snap's mind screamed for him to get away. He tried to struggle against the cuffs again. Even though it didn't work before, even though he tried many times already, the news of them breaking his arm caused adrenaline to fill up inside of him. He could hear them approach him, their footsteps banging the floor in an almost ominous way. He panicked and struggled harder.

He saw them come around to his front now. He could see the smiles on their faces, the intent hiding behind them. They knew he had heard them speak, so they did not bother telling him what they were about to do. Snap shook his head in protest, gritting his teeth in fear.

"N-No..please don't do this..." Snap begged, widening his eyes in fear. "D-Don't hurt me again..."

There was no reply. No sympathy could be found in their expressions. They went over to his right side, staring intently at his right arm. Terry reached down and uncuffed that arm. That limb suddenly free, Snap attempted to defend himself and swiped at them. The limb's freedom was short lived as Vinnie, the strongest of the two, gripped the arm tightly. Snap tried to jerk his hand back, but it was no use.

Vinnie twisted the arm roughly until the underside of it faced up. He then pulled the arm out to the side a little until half of Snap's forearm, as well as his whole hand, was over the side. Terry gripped Snap's upper arm and elbow and held it down in place. Vinnie used one hand to hold the forearm to the table while his other gripped Snap's wrist tightly. Then, with all his strength, he started to push his arm down, using the chair arm as a breaking point.

Snap's eyes flew open and he started to struggle. Rapidly, the pain increased. It ran up and down his arm. And it just continuosly got worse. Vinnie continued to push on his arm, gritting his teeth as he used his strength to try to break the bone as badly as he could. Terry kept the rest of the arm as still as possible so Snap couldn't jerk his right arm free.

As the seconds passed, the pain grew more intense. Tears of pain streamed down Snap's face. His body trembled in agony. His teeth were clenched, and he couldn't help but let out whimpers of agony. Vinnie did not let up. He pushed harder and harder, and slowly, he felt his forearm start to bend, the bones being painfully moved. Snap let out screams of pain, growing louder as he felt the bones start to, very slightly, give way.

"Please! Stop this! Let me go!" Snap pleaded with them. He was crying harder now, sobs escaping his throat. He stared at the two humans, his eyes wide with terror. "I-I promise I'll be good! I won't talk back! I'll cooperate with the experiments! Just please..stop hurting me! Don't do this! Please! I'll be good! I promise I'll be good!"

His cries fell on deaf ears. Vinnie's only response was to push even harder. Snap sobbed harder as agonizing pain radiated from his arm, spreading and intensifying. The pain...it was the worst pain he's felt. He never knew he could feel this much pain...be in this much agony. He let out a few more screams, his throat starting to hurt from it.

With Vinnie's eyes no longer on him, just on his forearm he was trying so hard to break, Snap turned his head towards Terry. She looked down at him, a frown on her face. Snap looked at her pleadingly, a silent question of 'why?' shining his eyes. Tears glistened on his cheeks, stinging them. Terry stared at him coldly, before a chilling smile spread across her face.

"Think of this as payback for that little stunt you and Rudy pulled on me back at the studio." Terry said. Snap widened his eyes a little at that. "After how you publically humiliated me..." She leaned in a little closer and whispered harshly, "..you deserve this..."

At that, Vinnie tightened his grip on Snap's wrist and, mustering up as much strength as he could, he pushed hard against Snap's arm. And this time, he was successful. There was a resounding snap, the breaking of bone. Then the tearing of flesh, the jagged broken end of the bone jetting out of his skin, clear as day.

Snap let out a bloodcurdling scream. The scream was loud and long, practically echoing off the walls. Vinnie winced at how loud it was, but Terry just smiled, obviously satisfied at getting her 'revenge'. Snap's arm felt like it was dipped in boiling oil. The pain...oh man the pain...it hurt so bad... He couldn't believe they actually did this to him... What did he do to deserve this...?

His screams faded into sobs and whimpers. His body convulsed in agony. He looked at his now broken arm, his heart racing as he saw the bone peaking out of the torn skin. He closed his eyes and looked away. The tears just kept falling. He opend his eye just enough to see, through his tear blurred vision, Terry and Vinnie smiling in satisfaction at what they did.

Snap continued to sob in the chair, whispering the word 'why?' to them over and over again. The pain became too much for him to bear. Soon his head slumped to the side and his world went dark. The last thing he saw before he blacked out was Terry and Vinnie leaving to go get the scientists. Then all was black.

sss

Dr. Lyson had never been so appalled in her life. She couldn't believe what she had just witnessed on camera. She never thought she would see something as gruesome as this, so heartless and cold.

She had been on her way to meet with the other scientists. They were trying to think of what to do with Vinnie and Terry. They weren't all into this 'chalk world' thing that the two kept mumbling about. They were determined to prove the blue kid, Snap White, was made of chalk. A weird experiment, but at first, it seemed harmless. Just take a sample of his blood and that's it. The scientists were just amusing the two. It wasn't like they had any important projects going on right now; it was the holidays after all. Temperatures were dropping and it was almost time to get ready for family.

She passed by the security room. She almost walked completely by it until she heard a plea. She went back and headed inside. One of the monitors showed Terry and Vinnie with Snap and what she saw appalled and horrified her.

They were breaking the kid's arm... She could see the look of agony and fear in the kid's eyes. He was crying...he was sobbing.. And yet the two adults continued to bend and twist his arm. Even when he had pleaded with them to stop, even when he begged for mercy, they didn't stop. Dr. Lyson could not stifle her gasp of horror, putting her hand to her mouth and taking a step back when she saw that they had broken his arm. And not just a simple break either; a compound one, with the bone peaking through the skin.

She watched, her body shaking, as the blue kid sobbed in the chair before the pain was too much for him and he passed out. And Terry and Vinnie...they showed absolutely no regret in what they had done to him. Those monsters... She knew they were up to no good. She knew they could not have been trusted. They should have just kicked them out the moment they suggested this...this experiment.

Maybe Snap is made of chalk. Maybe not. Right now, Dr. Lyson didn't care about that. Even if the results were positive, she didn't care. On the screen, all she could see was a damaged child in great pain. Snap, regardless if he's chalk or not, didn't deserve that. She never thought the experiments would get this violent. She never knew that Terry and Vinnie would go this far to prove they're right. And if the experiments they suggested would continue hurting this child...

...then she wanted no part in it.

Terry and Vinnie were leaving the room. No doubt to get the other scientists. She wondered how they would react when they see the broken arm. Some would be horrified, for certain. Others might not care so much, especially if they are convinced he's not human. Dr. Lyson knew that, once they got back, chances were high that they would subject Snap to more experiments, and might not treat his arm or be very gentle with him.

Although it was against the rules to act without meeting with the other scientists for a decision, Dr. Lyson's conscience was taking charge. She couldn't let the poor guy continue to suffer at the hands of those two disillusioned cretins. She knew it might cost her her job, but right now, she didn't really care. She was going to take advantage of this opening. This chance she had to get into the room before they did. And she knew the security system well to bend it a little in her favor.

She quickly headed down the hall. There wasn't much time. She would not waste a second. Terry and Vinnie would have to traverse the hallways to find the other scientists, who were all in the meeting room. That was on the upper level. And she was still on the same level as Snap. That would give her some time.

Traveling through the hallways, she made sure that Terry and Vinnie did not see her. As she pressed her back against the wall and let them walk by, she heard Terry comment with a tinge of happiness that she had been wanting to get Snap back for sometime. The fact that she sounded so happy that Snap was injured made Dr. Lyson sick to her stomach. Snap was just a little boy...

She didn't dwell too much on her anger. She had to focus on getting Snap out of here. When those two loons were out of sight, she slipped into the room as quietly as she could. She slowly approached the chair the boy was strapped in. And when she finally saw him up close, although she did not know him personally, she felt her heart break.

Snap's face was reddened and glistened a little from all the tears he shed. His head was lolled to the side. His expression was etched in pain, his face contorted in agony. Most of his body appeared unharmed...until she saw his right arm. She could see minor puncture wounds where she guessed Terry tried to take his blood. But then she saw his fracture. The bone peaking through..the torn skin...the blood that poured out from the open wound, the severe bruising...it was much more horrific up close.

The injury was absolutely horrific. No wonder the poor guy passed out. She bit her lip, feeling a few tears come to her eyes as she stared down at his pain-filled face. Who could do this to someone, let alone a child? She...she had to do something for him. This wound could not be kept open...

She looked around the room to try to find some disinfectant or something she could use to try to clean the wound. There was nothing here. She groaned in frustration and worry. She kept looking in the drawers and cabinets in this room, yet could find nothing except empty bottles. It seems that this room did not get a restock in this stuff. She looked back at Snap. She still had to do something for him. Anything...

She managed to find some beige-colored bandages, but not much else. It would have to do. She grabbed it and rushed back over to Snap. She quickly realized she had to do something with security before she could continue. She set the bandage roll there and rushed over to the panel. She typed in a code and there was a click. She then entered a second code to override the first one, which should buy her a little time. She returned to Snap.

She lifted up his right arm gently. She winced as she stared at the exposed bone. She didn't want to do this. She was afraid she would hurt him more. But the bone had to be pushed back under the skin and she might not get another chance like this. Snap was unconscious. She had to do it now. She gripped his arm carefully. She steadied the arm with one hand and the other, she pushed against the bone, and when it went under the skin, she held it there.

Quickly, before Snap could wake up and feel this, she took the bandages and wrapped them tightly around his arm. She went from his wrist all the way to his elbow. She kept wrapping it until she felt it was thick enough to be of some protection for his arm. She cut the bandage and tied it in a knot. Then she made a makeshift sling with more of the bandage. Once she secured it behind his neck and his arm was supported, she went to unshackle the boy.

That was when she felt movement. A slight twitching of the limbs. His eyes slowly fluttering open. Dr. Lyson took a step back and stared down at the child as he slowly woke up. He let out a soft groan. He shook his head lightly and looked around. He appeared to, for the time, forget where he was.

It didn't take him long to register the pain. He let out a cry of agony and then he was fully alert. His droopy eyes opened wide, and he stared up at her in fear. His body trembled. Fresh tears formed in his eyes. His lower lip quivered as soft sobs escaped his throat. It was a heartbreaking scene to watch.

"N-No..please don't hurt me..." Snap whispered. When Dr. Lyson took a step towards him, Snap cringed back. "I-I don't want this...please... I-I'll be good... I promise I'll be good..."

Dr. Lyson's heart tugged at that line. Saying that he'll be good...that's exactly what he said to Terry and Vinnie just before they broke his arm. And now he was using it towards her...and she could understand why. No scientist here had been that nice to him. He had no reason to trust her. She wanted to take it one step at a time with him, but right now, there was no time for that. She had little time to get him out of here.

"I promise I'll be good..." Snap whimpered a third time when Dr. Lyson got closer.

Dr. Lyson felt tears well up inside her eyes. He sounded so scared and frightened... And even just from the way he was talking, she knew he was in so much pain. She felt bad taking a step closer and watching him writhe in pain and terror. And when she got close enough and he turned his head away, like he expected to be struck, it tugged at her heart strings.

In an attempt to calm him down, she leaned forward and gently wrapped her hand around his head. She leaned in and pressed her chin against the top of his head. With her other hand, she gently gripped his shoulder. She felt Snap squirm frantically as he let out a few cries of terror.

"No! No!" Snap shouted. "Don't hurt me!"

"Shh shh shh...It's all right. It's okay..." Dr. Lyson whispered to him in a gentle voice. "I'm not going to hurt you..."

She pulled back and looked down at his face. He stared at her with wide eyes. He still looked frightened, but he calmed down a tad when she gave him a reassuring smile and gently caressed his cheek. For a moment, Snap offered a small smile back, a clear sign he was relieved that someone was finally showing him mercy and kindness. Then the smile faded as he groaned in pain.

Snap looked down at his arm. In an instant, he looked up at her in surprise. He didn't have to say a word. She could tell exactly what was on his mind. She turned her head to the makeshift cast she made for him and nodded affirmatively at him.

Snap understood immediately. Through his crying, he said, "Th-Thank you.." He sniffled and looked up at her pleadingly. Although he barely knew her, it was clear that Snap understood that she was his best chance for escape. "Please get me out of here..."

"I will. Don't worry." Dr. Lyson said.

She went to work unhooking the cuffs. She first freed his left arm. Then she freed his left leg, and finally his right. She took a step back. Snap stood up and stumbled out of the chair. She quickly grabbed him by his left arm and held him up. She didn't let go until he was able to regain his balance.

As she kept him steady, she could hear mumbling, chit chatting of the scientists, and of Terry and Vinnie. She heard their footsteps. They were heading down the hallway. She didn't have much time left now to get Snap out of here. She heard a low whimper and she looked down at Snap. He was staring at the door with wide eyes, his body shaking in fright. He knew Terry and Vinnie were coming back.

"They won't hurt you again. I promise." Dr. Lyson said sympathetically. As she heard a scientist try to open the door, she lowered herself and picked Snap up gently. "I know another way out of this room. I'll get you to a hospital and..."

She was surprised when Snap shook his head feverishly. "No...no hospital... T-Take me to R-Rudy Tabootie...please..."

"But...your arm..." Dr. Lyson couldn't understand why this kid was rejecting medical attention. "It needs proper mending."

Snap looked at her with scared eyes. "Please...take me to Rudy...please..."

Dr. Lyson bit her lip. She didn't know where this Rudy Tabootie lived. She knew how she could find out, but that would take up extra time. This kid desperately needed a hospital. She didn't know why he was so adament about not going. There had be a reason.

She heard a pounding on the door. She swerved her head over. She saw the door being pushed. Someone was trying to force it open. She could hear voices behind the door.

"It's stuck! Someone locked it!" A scientist shouted.

"Well hurry up and unlock it!" Terry said.

"It won't respond to our code!" Another scientist yelled.

"Look either you get that door open or I'll bust it down!" Vinnie snarled.

Snap whimpered at this. He put his left arm around Dr. Lyson's neck and pressed his face against her shoulder for comfort, crying. She held him gently, cradling him in her arms. She turned her head towards the second door in the room. It was meant for emergeny exits only and was usually locked. Her ID card had a chip in it that would unlock it. She glanced at the door one last time before she head towards the emergency exit.

She took out her ID and held it in front of the scanner. She heard a click and she put her card away. She heard the door behind her being pounded harder. It wouldn't be long before Vinnie or one of the scientists got the door open... She quickly rushed out the emergency exit and pushed it shut. She waited for it to beep and click again before she ran down the hallway towards the main entrance of the building.

She didn't bother avoiding the security cameras. She didn't care if she lost her job over this. She didn't care if she got into trouble with the other scientists. Right now, she just cared about doing the right thing. And that was getting this kid out of this place.

She rushed outside, feeling the cold chill run through her body in an instant. She had forgotten how cold it was outside. She shivered, trying to keep herself warm. She continued to run through the parking lot until she found her car. She unlocked the doors and placed Snap in the passenger's seat and buckled him in, careful to avoid his broken arm. She got into the driver's seat and, teeth chattering from the cold, she turned it on and started to drive.

"Do you know where Rudy Tabootie lives?" Dr. Lyson asked. "Can you give me a city and street name?"

Snap slowly shook his head. "No I don't.."

Dr. Lyson frowned at this. Without at least a city name, she wouldn't be able to take him to his friends' place like he requested. She would have to think of something else, another way to get to this boy. There had to be something...

"Wait...The..the city...it's Plainsville.." Snap said, his voice tinged in pain.

"Plainsville?" That was better than nothing. She at least had a destination now. "I know where that is." Dr. Lyson turned on her turn signal and made her way onto the road that would take her to Plainsvlle. As she continued driving down the road, she gave Snap a sideways glance and said, "Don't worry. I'll get you to your friend. I promise."

Snap gave a weak smile of gratefulness at her. "Thank you." He whispered. He let out a hiss of pain, tears dripping down his face. "P-Please hurry..."

Dr. Lyson did not waste any time. She barreled down the streets as fast as she could without breaking the speed limit or being wreckless. She was determined to get this little guy to safety. She promised she would get him to Rudy. And that was exactly what she was going to do.

sss

Rudy was worried. He and Penny had been searching all day, but they hadn't found a trace of Snap. The last time either of them have seen their friend was yesterday when they said goodbye to him. When they came in this morning, he was gone and no one knew where he was. He and Penny had been searching everywhere today, but have found no trace of him.

And now it was getting late. Very late actually. His parents would be home soon. They had gone off to do some shopping for the holidays. He had to be back in the house before they got home. Penny had to go as well. As much as they hated leaving ChalkZone, as much as they still wanted to search for their friend, they didn't have a choice. They would have to continue their search tomorrow and hope for the best.

Rudy's parents hadn't come home yet. He had just gotten out of ChalkZone a few minutes ago. He erased the portal and headed down the stairs. He went for a glass of water. All that walking around and talking he did in ChalkZone as he tried to figure out what happened to his friend did leave him parched. He chugged a glass down before he headed into the living room. He knew his parents were going to need help with the decorations, so rather than being called down the stairs, he decided to wait down here for them.

As he sat down on the couch, his mind drifted back to Snap. Just what had happened to him? There had been no signs, no warning at all that something like this was going to happen. If he had known Snap was going to be in trouble, he would have done something about it. He would have...he would have been there...

There were so many possibilities of what could have happened to him. Captured...lost...killed... His heart clenched at the third idea that came into his head. Killed... He bit his lip, tears welling up in his eyes. He hoped that wasn't the case. He hoped that Snap was okay. And he hoped, above all else, that he'll find him, safe and sound. He missed him so much. So did Penny. Even if it were just a day, it felt like forever to him.

Rudy started to think that maybe Skrawl was the one who captured him. He was the type of zoner to do that, just to get to him. Skrawl could be using Snap in some latest scheme of his. The thought made Rudy's blood boil. He thought about going into ChalkZone as soon as he had an opening and finding Skrawl...until he realized that Skrawl couldn't have done it. The moment he would have captured Snap, he would have let Rudy know. Snap was of no use to Skrawl other than as bait, and unless Skrawl forgot about his plans, which Rudy doubted, it was not so likely that Skrawl took his friend.

So what else could have happened? There were possibilities, but Rudy wasn't sure which one would have been the most likely. He didn't know the circumstances of his disappearance. Nobody else saw what happened either. Without any concrete ideas, without any evidence, how would he ever figure out what happened?

He and Penny were certainly willing to try, though. He was their best friend. They couldn't give up on him. They would just have to search around ChalkZone more. Maybe there was some place they hadn't looked yet. A stone they hadn't turned over yet. Something...

Rudy almost jumped when he heard a knock on the door. Rudy looked over, confused. Who could be coming over at this time of night? It wasn't his parents; they wouldn't knock. They'd just come right in because, well, this is their home. And it wasn't Penny or her mom. So...who could it be?

His heart raced a little. What if it's the police or someone coming over to take him in for questioning? What if Terry or Vinnie convinced someone that he knew about this world of chalk, that the world of chalk was real, and they managed to send someone over to fetch him?

He stared at the door in dread. There was another knock. This one was louder and faster, urgent. Rudy stood up, his body shaking. He didn't want to answer the door. He wanted to just leave it be. His parents told him to never answer the door for strangers. He didn't know who was on the other side. It could be someone who wanted to try to nab him while his parents were away. Yet, despite his fear, despite knowing it was a bad idea, he felt drawn to the door and, slowly, he approached.

Then he heard something. Someone calling out his name. It was muffled, but that voice..it was so familiar... Rudy's eyes shot open. No, it couldn't be... It...was it..?

"Rudy! Please open up!"

The voice called out to him again and again. And the pounding kept coming down. Whoever was on the other side really wanted him to open the door. Rudy wasn't sure what to believe. The voice...it sounded like Snap...but it couldn't be, could it? Snap was in ChalkZone, wasn't he? How...when could he have...?

He heard the voice again, higher pitched, frightened... And the more the listened, the more he was convinced that, yes, this was Snap. It had to be. There's no one else it could have been. Not many people in the real world know about Snap, so it wasn't like it was that possible that someone was just tricking him.

In a second, Rudy gripped the door. He didn't think of the consequences. He didn't think of what might happen if he was wrong. He didn't think about how, despite his previous conclusion, that there was still a chance that something could go very wrong. The only thing on his mind right now was the belief that Snap was behind this door. He swung the door open.

What he saw horrified him.

It was Snap... He was right, it was Snap. A woman was holding him, her hand was raised. Clearly she had been the one knocking. She looked to be a scientist of sorts, and was poorly dressed for the weather. And Snap...he looked terrible...

He looked so scared and frightened. His head was turned to look at him. His eyes were filled with fear and dread. There was a low whimpering coming from him as his body trembled like a leaf. He clung to the woman tightly like he was a lost, frightened child. But from how scared Snap was, there was no way this was just a simple act of him wandering around and losing sight of where he was.

"S-Snap..." Rudy whispered in a low voice.

The woman took a step into the house. He could see her name tag now. Dr. Lyson.

"Are you Rudy Tabootie?" Dr. Lyson asked. She held a worried expression on her face.

Rudy nodded his head slowly. "Yes I am."

Dr. Lyson gave a relieved smiled. She looked down at Snap, clearly concerned about him. She took a few steps towards the boy. She lowered herself towards the ground and set Snap down. And when she did this, Rudy could see part of the reason why Snap looked so shaken up and frightened.

His arm was broken. It was put in a makeshift cast, which he guessed Dr. Lyson made for him. He couldn't see just how badly broken it was with the bandages covering it. But from the bruising and the blood stains, he had a pretty good idea just how bad it was. His lower lip quivered as he stared at the arm. How had he broken his arm? Was it an accident or... or did someone do this to him on purpose?

Snap started to walk over to Rudy. The boy felt his heart tug as Snap wobbled a little. The pain was worse than he thought, affecting his movements. Snap continued to walk, nonetheless, and soon he was right in front of Rudy. The two stared at each other for a few seconds. Then Snap leaned a little and pressed his head against his chest. Rudy wrapped his arms around his friend, careful to avoid his injuries.

Snap put his left arm around Rudy and held on as tightly as he could. His face still pressed against Rudy's chest, he began to cry harder. Rudy felt his body shaking. His heart broke seeing his friend like this. He had never seen Snap so scared before.

Rudy looked over at Dr. Lyson. "What...what happened to him...?"

Dr. Lyson looked at Rudy with a regretful expression. "Ms. Bouffant and Mr. Raton broke his arm."

Rudy gasped at this. "Those two...they're the ones who did this to him?"

Dr. Lyson nodded her head. "I'm afraid so. I..saw it on the security cameras. It was horrific..." She shook her head in sadness, still obviously in disbelief of what happened to Snap. "I got him out of there. I wanted take him to the hospital. That break, the bone's sticking through..."

Rudy's heart started to race. He shot his gaze down to Snap's broken arm again. The break was that bad? Bone sticking out of the flesh...that was worse than a regular break. Why? Why would Vinnie and Terry do this to him? Snap never did anything to deserve it. Those...those bastards... Anger welled up inside of him. How dare they hurt his best friend... How dare they make him feel so scared and frightened...

"Snap says that he is highly allergic and that you and your family know how to take care of him." Dr. Lyson said. "Is this correct?"

Rudy, not taking his eyes off Snap, nodded his head. He knew Snap had lied about the allergies, but for a good reason. It was either that, or risk a trip to the hospital, where his condition could deteriorate because of the well-meaning doctors injecting him with some real world liquid.

He knew what had to be done. He'd have to wait until Dr. Lyson leaves, but he needed to take him into ChalkZone right away. He needed to get him to a hospital, fast. He needed his arm fitted with the proper cast or splint. He needed the wound cleaned and disinfected. And he needed to make sure nothing else was wrong with him. Who knows what else Vinnie and Terry did to him?

As Rudy continued to hug Snap, he looked up Dr. Lyson. He still wasn't sure of the full story of what happened to Snap. How had he ended up in that place? What more did the scientists, or Vinnie and Terry, do to him? There were so many questions he wanted to ask. There was more he wanted to discuss with Dr. Lyson. She had been there. She may know more of what happened to Snap, if anything else had been done to him.

But feeling Snap shaking in his arms, hearing his low cries, he wasn't sure if he should try to expand the discussion of his 'visit' with the scientists. Whatever had happened, it must have been awful. The poor guy's arm had been snapped... There was a slue of other things that may have been done to him. Had he been injected with experimental liquified chalk? Had his internal organs been damaged? Had he been forced to eat real world food?

Rudy knew he was letting his imagination get the better of him. He knew there was no proof something like that happened. He did, however, know one thing that happened. Vinnie and Terry had broken his arm on purpose. He knew this to be true because there it was, in the sling, resting against his friend's chest. He wasn't sure if he wanted to see what it looked like. And Snap...if he hadn't seen it for himself, he couldn't imagine how much of a shock it would be when they'd have to go into ChalkZone and have that arm fixed up. Snap might end up seeing it.

Anger welled up in his chest. He stared down at Snap and gently rubbed his back. How could Vinnie and Terry do such a thing to his friend? What did Snap do to deserve this? He wouldn't doubt that Snap was begging with them not to do it, especially if he had been conscious during the whole thing. And he wouldn't doubt that they would feel he deserved to get his arm broken, the bastards... He hoped they got what was coming to them. He didn't know how, but somehow, he was going to make sure they paid for what they did.

He looked back up at Dr. Lyson. He was grateful that someone there showed Snap some kindness. He was glad that someone took mercy on him and got him out of there. Snap certainly deserved kindness after what he had been put through. He was thankful that Dr. Lyson took him out of that situation before it got worse.

"Thank you...for rescuing my friend." Rudy said, giving a small smile. "It really means a lot.. I can't thank you enough for saving him."

Dr. Lyson smiled back at him. "No problem, kiddo." She gave a concerned look to Snap. "When are you parents going to be home? He's going to need help soon."

Rudy looked out towards the door for a second, then turned his attention to the scientist. "They will be here soon. When they get here, I'll fill them in on what happened and we'll take him to our doctor. They'll...they'll fix him up.." Rudy looked down at his friend sadly as the blue boy continued to cry.

Dr. Lyson nodded her head. "I'm glad to hear it." She took a step away from the two. "I have to get going now, but I leave you with this message." Rudy looked up at her. "I have a copy of that footage of Mr. Raton and Ms. Bouffant breaking your friend's arm. I'll be sending it to the police. Believe me, once the police see that footage, those two won't stand a chance. They'll be arrested for certain. Rest assurred they'll get the punishment they deserve."

Rudy smiled gratefully at the scientist. He was happy that he didn't have to do anything himself. This woman had already thought ahead and got the evidence needed to convict Vinnie and Terry. And if there was a trial, he would go there and testify against those jerks and make sure they get sent to jail. They would not get away with hurting his friend like this.

"Thank you." Rudy said.

"You're welcome." Dr. Lyson said. She turned and walked towards the door. She opened it up and stared back to the two boys. She looked down at Snap, her expression softening into worry. "Take care..." With that, she left the house, leaving Snap and Rudy alone.

Rudy stared down at his trembling friend. Snap hadn't stopped shaking or crying since he first came in. Although he only had one working arm, it was wrapped around him so tightly, Rudy didn't think he could let go. But seeing his friend like this..he didn't want to let go. The only thing that would make him let go was if his parents were home, but he still had some time. He continued to hug his friend, trying his best to calm him down.

He had known Snap to be afraid before..but not like this. He was downright terrified. He wasn't letting go. He clung onto Rudy like his life depended on it. Rudy could feel his tears staining his shirt as the blue boy sobbed. He couldn't tell if the crying was mostly from fear or pain. He gently rubbed Snap's back, pressing his head against his.

He had to take Snap back to ChalkZone fast. He needed that arm looked at. He had thought about calling Penny and letting her know about Snap, but he needed to get him to a ChalkZone hospital first. The faster he got him there, the better. He needed his arm properly treated and casted, or at least put in a splint. The makeshift cast Dr. Lyson made for him would work for a short time, but his friend needed something sturdier and more secure. And his arm needed to be disinfected just in case. Better safe than sorry.

"R-R-Rudy..." Snap whimpered, his face still pressed against his chest. "It..it was horrible... They hurt me...hurt me so badly.. I..I tried to tell them I'd be..good..I'll be good..." Snap's voice came in shaky breaths, sniffling. "B-But they didn't listen to me... Terry said I deserved it...I..I don't want them to hurt me again...Please, keep them away from me.."

"Shh..." Rudy said soothingly, stroking the back of Snap's head. "You'll be okay. You'll see. Everything will be fine. Vinnie and Terry will be locked up for what they did to you. They will not be able to hurt you again. I promise..." Rudy pulled his head away and looked down at his friend. "They will not go unpunished."

Snap lifted up his head. Rudy could see just how reddened his face was from the crying. His face and eyes shined from the tears he had shed. His lips were quivering as small sobs still escaped his mouth. He looked so scared. Rudy reached down and pressed his hand against Snap's cheek and gently caressed it.

"Everything will be okay, Snap. Shhh... It'll be fine.." Rudy whispered gently to his friend. Slowly, Snap smiled at him, taking comfort in his words. Rudy smiled back. He then gestured his head towards the stairs. "Come on. We need to get you into ChalkZone and have that arm taken care of."

"Are you...going to bring Buckette..?" Snap asked.

Rudy did want to bring Penny with. But first he needed Snap to get to the hospital soon. He needed that arm treated as soon as possible. He said, "Let me drop you off at the hospital first. I'll get Penny and we'll be there as soon as possible. I promise."

With that, Rudy led Snap towards the stairs. Holding onto his arm, he helped Snap climb up the steps. He took his time, making sure he didn't go too fast so his friend didn't trip. They soon reached his bedroom. Rudy didn't hesitate to draw a portal. He got through the portal first. He helped Snap through and the two of them headed to the nearest hospital.

sss

"Oh Snap... I can't believe they did that to you." Penny whispered softly. Tears moved slowly down her face as she looked at her injured friend.

Snap pressed up against her, resting his head against her shoulder. "Buckette... It was terrible.. Th-They wouldn't listen... T-T-Terry said I des-deserved it..." He looped his unbroken arm around Penny and cuddled up with her. "She and V-Vinnie were...so happy when they...b-broke my arm.. Looked so satisfied.."

Rudy, who sat down beside Snap, keeping him between them, reached out and placed his hand on Snap's shoulder gently. "Don't worry, Snap. They won't be able to hurt you again. You heard what Dr. Lyson said. She will make sure those two get arrested."

Snap lifted up his head and looked over at Rudy. Small whimpers emmitted from his mouth. He stared at the boy with a wide-eyed expression, his eyes filled with fear and uncertainty. They silently asked him the question 'are you sure?'. It was clear that he had been traumatized by his experience with Vinnie and Terry and Rudy and Penny couldn't blame him for being so afraid.

Rudy kept his grip on Snap's shoulder. He gently squeezed it. "It's okay... It's going to be okay. We promise..." He moved in a little more, letting himself get physically closer to his injured friend in an attempt to comfort him. "You'll be fine..."

"Yeah, Snap." Penny said, hugging Snap gently. Her head rested on his shoulder. She was careful to avoid his damaged arm. "Vinnie and Terry will get locked up and you'll never see them again. Your arm will get better, and you'll be fine." She gently stroked the back of his head. "Shh...it'll be okay..."

Snap just continued to cry, holding onto Penny tightly. Penny exchanged sad glances with Rudy. She looked down at Snap, worry eating away at her stomach as she watched him cry. She let him cry into her shoulder, ignoring the wetness forming there from his tears. Rudy ran his hand along Snap's shoulder, offering whatever comfort he could.

Penny recalled how horrified she was when Rudy came to her with the news of what happened. She had been worried all day about Snap's whereabouts. She and Rudy hadn't been able to find him anywhere in ChalkZone, and they had absolutely no leads. There were so many possibilities of what could have happened, and she recalled the sickening feeling in her stomach as scenerio after scenerio played in her head, each one worse than the last.

When Rudy had spoke to her, she was at first relieved that he found out what happened to Snap. That relief turned into cold fear when she was informed about Snap somehow being captured by Vinnie and Terry and getting his arm broken. He isn't sure of everything done to him and just how he ended up there in the first place. She recalled how her blood chilled when he said that the break was so bad, the bone stuck through his skin.

Penny was relieved when Rudy told her about how one of the scientists, Dr. Lyson, had taken pity on Snap and helped him get out of there, even giving him a makeshift cast of sorts to help support his broken arm until it could be properly mended. She was happy to know that at least someone there was kind to Snap and showed him some mercy. He certainly needed it after what he had been through there.

They were now sitting in the doctor's office. Dr. Uri, who was going to be in charge of the surgery, would be in the room soon. He needed to get some sheets for the x-ray. Snap needed to get an x-ray of his arm first, to determine how bad the break was. After the doctors are able to find out, they could better prepare the surgery and mend his arm as quickly as they could without sacrificing quality.

Penny was nervous for when the doctor came. Rudy was, too. She could tell by the way he was sometimes warily eyeing the door. Snap was scared as well. He was so shaken up by what happened, his body trembling... Her heart broke in two as she heard him whimpering in her arms. She and Rudy did their best to cheer him up, but he was still too shaken by what happened to really calm down. She and Rudy could only hope that, after he was given his much needed treatment and spend sometime without Terry or Vinnie coming after him, he could begin to relax.

She knew Snap did not want to see his wound. He did not want to see the damage that Vinnie and Terry gave him. He did not want to be reminded of his horrific stay there. She wished there was another way. But she knew that, in order to take the x-ray, the makeshift cast would need to come off. He would, she was certain, see his gaping wound. The sight of it was going to be horrifying...

The trio raised their heads when the door opened up. They looked over and they could see Dr. Uri walking in slowly. The stick figure doctor held some x-ray sheets in his arm. He set them down and started to adjust the large machien in front of them. Snap whimpered and cringed further into Penny's arms as the massive x-ray machine was put into place.

After it was set, with the sheets placed into the machine, Dr. Uri walked over to where the three friends were. He made a gesture with his hand. "Come on, Snap. Up on the table we go."

Snap looked up at Penny and Rudy, his eyes wide in fear. They both smiled at him gently, squeezing his shoulder and stroking his hand reassuringly. They quietly whispered to him it will be okay. Looking a little comforted by this, Snap got off from the seat and headed over to the table Dr. Uri wanted him to be on.

Dr. Uri took position in front of him. He didn't smile, but he didn't need to in order to show he was going to be gentle with him. His movements, the way he spoke, it conveyed a kind zoner, and Penny could tell that this gentleness was helping Snap relax more. She wished she could do something to help, but she knew it was best to let the doctor do his job. She and Rudy held hands as they washed the scene before them, anxiety burning away at their blood.

Dr. Uri reached down for the makeshift cast. Snap let out a small whimper. "Now..now... We need to get this off. You need an x-ray done."

"I-I don't want..." Snap started to say. Dr. Uri accidentally irritated his arm and Snap let out a cry of pain. "It hurts too m-much..."

Dr. Uri looked at him apologetically. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you." He paused for a moment. "Would you like a pain blocker? I need to be able to remove this bandage and if it hurts you that bad, then perhaps a pain blocker will help."

Snap nodded his head quickly, tears flowing down his face. "Y-Yes..please..."

"Okay." Dr. Uri got up. "Hold on. I'll be right back."

Dr. Uri walked over to one of the nearby cabinets. He pulled out a drawer and rummaged through it. He pulled out a long needle and set it on the desk. At this, Snap's eyes widened slightly. Rudy and Penny looked at him sadly, realizing that the needle must be reminding him of his stay at...wherever Terry and Vinnie had taken him. It made them both wonder angrily just what else those two bastards did to him.

The doctor opened up a cabinet door and took out what looked like a small bottle filled with clear fluid. He stuck the needle in it and, slowly, pulled the back part up. The needle filled with the clear fluid. The doctor did not stop until he filled the needle all the way. He removed it and held it up in the air. He stared at it for a few seconds, and then tapped his finger against the needle. He turned his attention to Snap and began to walk over.

Snap cringed away from the doctor, shaking in fear. His eyes were locked onto the needle. Dr. Uri raised the needle up and prepared to inject Snap with it. But the zoner was too terrified. Despite knowing that the needle was just going to take away the pain, Snap moved back as though he thought it was going to bite him. Dr. Uri attempted to grab his good arm to hold him still, but that caused Snap to cry out in fear instinctively.

Dr. Uri tried a few more times, but Snap just wouldn't cooperate. The doctor, though well meaning, was getting frustrated with Snap. Penny could see the doctor's eyes narrow and how his movements were getting rougher. She could also tell that Snap really was trying hard not to cringe back like that, but there was something about the needle that was making him uncharacteristically afraid. It's almost like he got a kind of phobia of needles.

Soon, Rudy and Penny couldn't take watching this anymore. They got up from their seats and approached where Snap was. At this point, Snap had put his good arm in front of him defensively while his head was turned to the side. He let out a series of small whimpers. He'd swat at the doctor if he got too close with the needle.

"What is your problem?" Dr. Uri asked. He was irritated, though he was trying his best to keep his cool. "You said you wanted the pain blocker."

"I didn't know it was going to be a n-n-needle..." Snap whimpered.

"Snap..." Rudy said softly, getting his friend's attention. "You don't need to be afraid. Dr. Uri is just trying to help you. Please...try to relax so he can give you the shot. It'll be over before you know it."

Snap looked up at Rudy, his eyes wide in fear. His body still trembled, and Rudy and Penny felt their hearts clench as they listened to him cry. His face glistened with tears. It was clear he was having a hard time relaxing. When the doctor tried again, Snap was startled and moved away so quick, he almost fell over.

Penny knew it had to be some kind of phobia, and she bet it was related to Terry and Vinnie. They must have done something to him with a needle, something that hurt him enough that made him so afraid of them. He's never feared needles like this before.

Penny reached out and gently touched Snap's shoulder. "Snap...did...did Vinnie and Terry...do something to you with a needle?"

Snap looked at her. His lower lip quivered and he closed his eyes as more tears flowed down his face. He opened up his mouth to speak, but all that came out was a small whimper. He nodded his head quickly.

Rudy and Penny looked at each other at this. So that explained it. That was why Snap was afraid of the needle. Something to do with those two... They couldn't believe how cruel they had been to Snap. Hurting him with a needle and then breaking his arm... And they still had no idea what else was done to him. Who knows what else those two bastards subjected Snap to.

"What did they do...?" Rudy asked Snap gently.

Snap whined softly as he leaned against Rudy for support. The boy gently put his arm around him. "T-T-Terry was trying to t-t-take my blood, and sh-she had no i-idea what she was doing.. Kept j-jabbing me in the arm...it hurt... Didn't e-e-even try to stop the bl-bleeding..."

Rudy and Penny stared at Snap in horror. Terry had done what to Snap? Without experience, she tried to take his blood? That could have gone so horribly wrong... And she didn't try to stop the bleeding? She just...let his arm bleed out like that? How sickening... Their anger towards that evil woman rose up, making their stomachs burn.

There was another concern as well. What happened with the blood? Did Dr. Lyson take it? Did one of the other scientists take it? Do Vinnie and Terry still have it? The thought that a sample of Snap's blood was out there horrified them. It could be used as evidence for ChalkZone, as proof of a world where living beings were made of chalk...

But right now, they couldn't do anything about that. As dire as the situation was, they would have to wait. For now, Snap needed them, and they had to be there for him. He needed to be treated, so he can begin the road to recovery. They would begin talk about what to do about that blood later.

Penny knew, at this rate, there was no way Snap was going to be cooperative enough to let the doctor give him the shot. And he was in too much pain for the makeshift cast to be removed. He definitely needed that shot.

Turning to Dr. Uri, she said, "Can I give him the shot?"

Dr. Uri turned to her, his eyes widened in surprise. "You? Have you given a shot like this before?"

"I've helped my mom give animals shots. I'm sure I can do it if you told me where to put it." Penny explained. "I think our friend would feel better if I or Rudy gave him the shot." She glanced down at Snap. "Would you feel better if I did it, Snap?"

Snap looked up at her. He nodded his head slowly.

Dr. Uri looked uncertain, but he was cooperative. He reached over and handed Penny the needle. She grabbed onto it, holding it in her right hand. Dr. Uri reached over to Snap's right arm. He pressed his finger against the very top of Snap's upper arm, just before the shoulder began.

"Inject it here. The needle is sharp so it will go through the cloth easily. I would have had him remove his leotard, but..." Dr. Uri looked down at the makeshift cast. "You can see why I couldn't do that."

"We understand." Penny said as she positioned the needle where the doctor indicated. "Inject the whole thing?"

Dr. Uri nodded his head. "Yes. It'll numb up his arm. It'll hurt but the numbing effect will not take long."

Penny said, "Okay." She looked down at Snap, giving him a sympathetic expression. "I'll be as gentle as I can, Snap. It'll be over before you know it."

"Yeah, Snap..." Rudy went to Snap's left side. He wrapped his arms around Snap's unbroken left arm, pulling him into a partial half hug. "It'll be okay..."

Snap looked scared. Even though it was Penny giving him the shot this time, he was still frightened of the needle. He did, however, look a little bit more relaxed since it was Penny this time, someone he trusted. He was comforted by this, by Rudy's words. Though shaking, he did not cringe away when Penny came over with the needle.

Penny pressed the needle against Snap's arm. The zoner let out a small whimper and turned his head away. Rudy released one of his arms and put his hand against Snap's head. He pressed his chin against Snap's head, letting his friend bury his face against his upper chest.

Penny started to push the needle in slowly. Snap whimpered loudly in pain, his teeth clenched. The needle really did hurt... Considering it was going into a nerve, though, they weren't surprised. Rudy and Penny whispered soft, comforting words to him, trying their best to help him calm down. Penny continued to push the needle in as far as it needed to go. Then she started to push the top down, injecting Snap with the clear fluid.

Soon all of the fluid was injected. Penny removed the needle as quickly and gently as she could. As a way of silently apologizing to Snap for unintentionally hurting him, she gently rubbed that area while her other hand rubbed his back. Rudy gently squeezed his hand and rubbed his cheek against his. Snap cried for a few moments, and slowly calmed down with Rudy and Penny's efforts.

"We will wait for a couple of minutes to make sure the pain blocker took effect." Dr. Uri said. "Once it is, I will remove the makeshift cast so a proper x-ray can be taken."

"I-I don't want to see it..." Snap whimpered, tears welling up in his eyes. "I-I don't...want.."

"Shhh...It's going to be okay, Snap..." Rudy whispered. "We're here for you. It'll be okay."

Penny continued to rub Snap's back. "We're here for you... Don't worry. You will be okay... We promise."

Snap looked over at Penny and then at Rudy. He looked as though he was trying to get some reassurance that they weren't lying to him. In response, the two friends huddled closer to Snap, taking care not to hurt him. They smiled at him gently, keeping themselves physically close to him so that he could feel safe. Snap slowly smiled back at them. The sight of him smiling caused a feeling of elation to rise up in both of them. It must be hard for Snap to smile at all after what he had been through. Even just a faint smile meant a lot.

She and Rudy stayed by Snap's side for the next few minutes while the drug started to take affect. It didn't take long for Snap's pained expression to slowly soften up. Any evidence of pain was soon gone from his face entirely. His body still trembled, however, and Penny and Rudy knew it was from fear. Seeing Snap so scared and afraid, it was heartbreaking. They hoped he would return to his usual self soon.

Dr. Uri took a few steps over to them. "Has the pain blocker taken effect now?"

All eyes were on Snap. Penny knew they could test themselves, but she would rather not they put Snap through any unnecessary pain. She felt it was best to have Snap himself tell them. She and the others watched him as Snap slowly looked over at them. He turned his gaze to his broken arm. He shifted it a little, a look of caution splashed over his face. He looked back at the others. He hesitated for a moment, and then he responded.

"..y-yes.. It doesn't hurt anymore..." Snap whispered softly.

Penny bit her lip. There was a bit of fear tinged on that voice. Snap must really not want to see his arm. She glanced over at Rudy and he had jumped to the same conclusion. The two of them felt so sorry for Snap. How could they blame him for being scared? The wound sounded so horrific... Who would want to see their own wounds, especially if they were that bad? Poor Snap...

Dr. Uri moved closer. His eyes were focused intently on Snap's arm. Penny moved out of the doctor's way, getting over on Snap's other side with Rudy. She and Rudy watched as Dr. Uri undid the sling that kept his arm to his chest. Snap's eyes looked over at him warily, his teeth gritted in fear. The first thing the doctor did after that was gently lift up Snap's arm, carefuly pulling it out towards him.

"I am going to remove the bandages, Snap. Then I will take the X-Rays as soon as I can." Dr. Uri said, still holding onto Snap's right arm. "I'll clean your wound afterward and get a proper cast on it. I'll try to make this go as quickly as possible, okay?"

Snap nodded his head shakingly. "O-Okay..."

"Okay. Here I go." Dr. Uri grabbed a small knife and brought it over. "If you feel uncomfortable, just close your eyes and look away."

Dr. Uri started to cut the makeshift cast. He moved quickly, the scissors making short work of the material Dr. Lyson used to make the cast. The trio watched as, slowly, the makeshift cast started to come apart. Snap started to whimper loudly, his eyes widening and teeth bared. He looked as though he couldn't turn away as the doctor cut up the cloth.

Penny felt her heart racing faster and faster as the doctor got closer to the other side of the cloth. She and Rudy had not seen the wound yet and soon they would. They knew what to expect, but to see it for themseles..it was going to be horrible. She braced herself for what she was about to see. She huddled close to Rudy, reaching out and placing a hand against Snap's back. As terrified as the three were to see the wound, they all knew they were in this together.

Soon, the doctor had finished cutting the cast. Still holding Snap's arm, keeping the cast from slipping off, he took the scissors and dropped them off nearby. He then turned his attention to the makeshift cast. He started to gently pull it apart. Soon the cast came off completely and it was set on the table next to them. Snap's wound was in full view of everyone.

The doctor's eyes instantly widened in horror, his face clearly showing that he did not expect it to be this bad. Rudy and Penny gasped, their eyes filled with terror and shock. Tears formed in their eyes. They couldn't believe just how bad it was. And poor Snap.. He had let out a scream, his eyes bulging open and tears flowing down his face. He lost a few shades of color, despite already being white. His body trembled, prompting Rudy and Penny to try to calm him down.

Snap's wound was absolutely horrific. In about the middle of the arm, there was a deep gash. The skin had been torn open, likely from the piece of bone that had been sticking out. Dr. Lyson must have pushed the bone underneath the skin once more, but without being secured in place, the two of them could see the area where the bone was starting to push upwards again. Dark purple, red, and some near black bruises decorated Snap's arm, covering all around the gash and making it look almost dead and sickly.

The gash was so deep, they could see directly into the arm. Despite the bone being pushed back under, that did little to hide the damage made when Vinnie and Terry broke his arm. Penny felt her stomach start to lurch a little when she could see the details inside her best friend's arm. The thin layer of yellow fat, a bit of muscle, blood that stained around it... It was such a sickening sight. How could those two be so cruel to Snap? How could they do something this...this horrible to him?

Snap's breathing quickened, a sign of hyperventilation. Tears dripped from his eyes, his body trembling, as he stared at the wound on his arm. He shook his head slowly, as if he had a hard time believing what he was seeing. No doubt he was having flashbacks to when those two evil humans did this to him. His body soon wracked with sobs, his teeth clenching tightly.

"It's too horrible! I don't want to see it! Please cover it up! Please! I don't want to look at it!" Snap cried loudly, wriggling uncontrollably on the table. Rudy and Penny grabbed onto their friend. Snap started to struggle. "No! Please!" His wide, terrified eyes were glued to his nastily broken arm. "Please!"

"Shh shh shh...it's okay.." Rudy put his hand around Snap's head. He turned Snap's head so the zoner's gaze was away from his arm. He then moved himself forward until Snap's face was pressed against his shoulders. He gently rubbed the back of Snap's head and whispered, "It'll be okay, Snap..it's okay...shhh..."

Penny grabbed onto Snap's unbroken arm and lifted it up. She held his left hand on hers, running her hand along the top of it gently, She moved her hand up and down his arm a few times, gently caressing it. She squeezed his hand and said, "Yeah..it will be fine... I know it looks bad, but the doctor will make it go away. And you will be fine. You'll see." Snap continued to cry. Penny pressed her face against Snap's hand, nuzzling it gently. "Shh..."

Snap kept his head pressed against Rudy's shoulder, crying loudly as the two tried to comfort their friend. They whispered soft, comforting words to him, keeping themselves close to him. Despite their efforts, Snap had a hard time calming down. He sometimes, on morbid instinct, tried to look back at the wound, but either stopped himself or she and Rudy did. They did their best to block his view of his wound. It was causing him too much mental distress. She hoped the doctor can get the x-rays done and fast.

Dr. Uri sucked his lip as he stared at the open wound. Penny gave another look, and gasped at how much worse it seemed now. Although it was the same, it was like, each second that passed, the wound looked more and more horrible. She started to notice some detail she did not before. Additional cuts, though small, the puncture wounds where Terri tried to take his blood, the cracks in the bone, additional damage... All of this painted a very gruesome picture.

Penny ran her hand up and down his left arm, gently massaging it. She kept his hand pressed against her cheek. Rudy remained next to her, his arms wrapped around Snap's head. She watched as Snap continued to cry into Rudy's shoulder, mumbling some words under his breath, most prominently was the word 'why?'. This caused Penny to take in a shuddering breath. Poor Snap... She really wished she could tell him why some people were so cruel. But even she didn't have the answers to everything. If she did, she would have figured out a way to keep Terry and Vinnie away from ChalkZone and especially their friend.

Dr. Uri motioned for Rudy and Penny to stand aside. "I'm sorry, but you will need to back away for a bit. I can't take the x-ray with you standing there."

As much as it hurt them to do this, Rudy and Penny knew the doctor was right. Snap needed to get this x-ray done and they would only be in the way. They told Snap it was going to be okay and that they would remain in the room with him. Snap didn't want them to leave him. The way he looked at them when they let go...it was heartbreaking. The two humans felt tears form in their eyes at the sight of their friend this scared.

Snap looked up at Dr. Uri pleadingly. There was a silent question in his eyes. He wanted to know if Rudy and Penny could come over to him again. Penny bit her lip at this. Snap was so mentally scarred from this experience... She wished she could go over to him, but a shake of the doctor's head told her and Rudy they couldn't come over. All they could do was wait.

But as soon as it was over, she and Rudy would be by his side. They would help him through this. As Dr. Uri prepared Snap to have the x-rays taken of his broken arm, she and RUdy made a silent promise. They would do whatever it took to help their friend feel better again. It might take a long time, but they would stick by him every step of the way. And they would make sure that Vinnie and Terry never hurt him again. If Dr. Lyson is true to her word, then they can rest assured that they will not.

sss

Rudy leaned against the school's wall, watching the other kids playing. It was a beautiful day outside. Despite it being winter and freezing, today was particularly sunny and warm, at least for this kind of weather. The other students were running around, playing with the snow, making balls and tossing them at each other. They were laughing and screaming with joy, especially since they were going to get off early today.

But Rudy couldn't be happy. He tried to smile. He tried to enjoy the day. But how could he? Yesterday, his friend, Snap, had been taken to the hospital with a horrifically broken arm. The image was glued to his mind. He had tried to push the thoughts of it out of his head, but he found it was impossible. He had a hard time going to sleep at night because of what had happened. Nightmares plagued him, mostly revolving around Snap getting his arm broken.

Rudy shuddered as the horrible memories came back to him, of the nightmares he had. Often, over and over again at night all the way to the early morning, he would see Snap strapped down to a table chair, too scared to use his 2D powers. Then he'd see Vinnie and Terry, who were mostly in shadow, coming over and breaking his arm slowly. He could still hear their horrible laughter as Snap scream and pleaded for someone to help him. The worst dream was the most recent one, before he had to get up for school. In that dream, Snap had seen him, or he thought he had seen him, and asked him why he didn't save him.

While the other dreams did cause him to cry softly, that one had him sitting up in bed, sobbing. His mother had come into the room, having heard a wail which Rudy guessed was from him. His mother tried to calm him down, telling him it was just a bad dream. Rudy was grateful that his mom didn't try to ask him what the dream was. She just calmed him down and gave him a shoulder to cry on.

He didn't want to come into school today. He was too distraught over what had happened to Snap. He wanted to stay home so he could go and visit him at the hospital. But he knew he wouldn't be able to do that until after school. His parents weren't going to let him stay home unless he was sick, and Rudy was too upset to try to fake it affectively. The snow on the ground made it next to impossible to draw a portal without complications. He and Penny, who stood next to him, just as upset as he was, had no choice but to wait until they got home to visit their friend.

Dr. Uri's words still rang in their heads. Snap's condition was worse than they thought. The wound had gotten a massive infection from being open in the air like that. Though the real world germs didn't hurt him, the ones from his clothing did. Before Dr. Lyson had put the makeshift cast on him, the chalk bacteria got into his arm. The infection had started to spread. Dr. Uri said they were lucky they got him to the hospital before any major symptoms showed up.

In addition to that, Dr. Uri told them that, due to how bad the break was, some pieces of bone had broken off, and thus adding more things that needed to be done in surgery. More complications...which would slow down Snap's recovery time. Snap's arm bone had been placed back together more efficiently, and they knew that Snap was wearing a splint or a brace now. But it would take a long time for him to recover from all of this. And the doctor stressed that Snap might need therapy afterwards. And that would not happen until after he recieved the cast and wore it until his arm heald up completely.

The thought of Snap having to go to therapy made their hearts clench. They felt a small burning sensation in their stomachs. What made this so horrible was the fact that it wasn't a simple accident he had been in that caused this. This was done to him on purpose. Two horrible, disgusting people deliberately hurt Snap. If it weren't for them, Snap would still be okay. He'd still be running around ChalkZone, having a great time. But instead, he was forced to stay at a hospital with an arm broken due to their greed.

But at least he was safe now. He was no longer trapped in that horrible laboratory with those scientists..and those two monsters. He was no longer trapped in the real world. He was back in ChalkZone, where he was being cared for. Terry and Vinnie had no access into ChalkZone. No magic chalk. There was no way they could get to Snap now. They didn't even know about the whole 'anything on a chalkboard erased becomes real in ChalkZone' thing... or at least he hoped they didn't.

The thought was chilling. If those two did know about that, then they could easily get rid of Snap, or try to have him recaptured. Was it possible Boorat was one of their creations? He had no proof, and he had his doubts the rat zoner would tell him if he asked. But if he was their creation, if he was created with the sole purpose of stealing the magic chalk...

Oh no... Was that...was that how they got Snap in the first place...? Did they use the chalkboard to their advantage, and send some crony zoner or something to get their friend? Rudy wasn't sure how Snap was kidnapped at all, as the zoner was too shaken up to tell him. As soon as he and Penny went into ChalkZone later today, they would need to ask him. They needed to know.

When Penny spoke, Rudy's thoughts were interrupted abruptly. He looked over at her, listening to her as she spoke.

"I'm scared, Rudy... Just..how did they get Snap?" Penny asked softly. So it seemed she was having the same thought as he was. "Snap isn't the type to just wander through portals like that. I'm certain he was dragged through, but that would mean that..."

"It would require those two creepazoids knowing about how they can create things on the chalkboard..and know how to 'give them a purpose' so they will follow a command right away..." Rudy finished for her.

For a few moments, the two friends looked at each other. Horror was etched on their faces. They both knew, if this was true, then the implications were very clear. ChalkZone was not safe...not yet. Even though Snap was back, even though they couldn't experiment on him more...they could still do harm.

Their hearts started to clench and beat faster. This just threw in more complications into the situation. Just what they needed... It was bad enough that Snap was hurt, bad enough that the scientists still had the zoner's blood.. The last thing they needed was more bad news. If Terry and Vinnie knew the thing with the blackboard, they would surely use it to their advantage. What if they threaten Snap? What if they threaten other zoners? How would they be able to stop them?

They were a little relaxed when they reminded themselves that Vinnie and Terry were going to be arrested. There was footage of them hurting a child after all. Snap might be a zoner, but he was still a kid like them. That video, depicting him screaming for mercy as his arm is being broken...yeah that was all the evidence the police need to have those two arrested and convicted. They would be going to jail for a long time. They'd have no access to chalkboards.

But there was still the fear that...maybe they'd find a way out of it. Maybe they could find a way to get equitted or have a shorter sentence. If they manage to get out... They tried not to think about it.

"I'm sure it all work out..." Rudy finally said, breaking the silence. He leaned against the wall, tilting his head upwards. "I'm certain that it will..somehow.."

"I sure hope you're right, Rudy. Snap has enough to worry about without being concerned with getting kidnapped again." Penny said. She shuddered a little as she said the word 'kidnapped'. It was clear that not knowing just how he got captured was eating away at her. Rudy felt anxious about not knowing as well. He hoped they figured it out soon. Penny took a step towards him. "If those two do know about how chalkboards work..."

Rudy nodded his head. "Yeah...it would be bad news if they did. They would be harder to stop." He looked over at Penny, staring at her in the eyes. They were both thinking the same thing. "If they had the magic chalk, we could just hatch a plan to get it away from them. But if they had a chalkboard...and regular chalk... We could steal that all we want to, but they can just buy more. And they could also have us arrested for theft." He turned his head away, the thoughts weighing heavily on him. "We can only hope that they get arrested and stay in jail for a long time."

"Yeah. I hope so." Penny said.

The two friends sat there in silence, contemplating what they should do next. If their fears turned out to be true, and Vinnie and Terry did know about the chalkboard trick... If they weren't thrown in jail, what were they going to do? If Vinnie and Terry decided to use this tactic against them, there was little they could do to stop them. It wasn't like they'd listen to them. Their warnings and pleas would do nothing to stop those two villains. Someone using a regular chalkboard was, in some ways, more dangerous than a chalk wielder.

If Vinnie and Terry were in ChalkZone with the magic chalk, at least Rudy could face them. He could confront them directly and use the magic chalk to get them out of ChalkZone. But if they were using the chalkboard, he was at a disadvantage. Even if he could predict where the things are erased, those two could just keep drawing more and more threats, even change their location to make them harder to spot. He couldn't confront them in the real world, and stealing wasn't an option.

In other words, they'd be screwed.

Just then, before they could continue speaking of the situation, they heard footsteps coming their way. They turned their heads to see Mr. Wilter walking towards them. He looked...weird. It was like he was worried, but there was something off about his expression. Rudy and Penny felt a pang in their chests. Mr. Wilter had this look before. They knew that, for him to look like this, it had to be serious.

"Rudy Tabootie. Penny Sanchez." Mr. Wilter said. They took quick notice of how shaky his voice sounded, which did little to calm them down. "Come with me." He used his finger to gesture for them to follow.

Rudy and Penny looked at each other nervously. Why was Mr. Wilter acting like this? Was something wrong? Both of them had horrible thoughts that maybe something happened to their families. An accident maybe? That was the only thing they could think of. Vinnie and Terry wouldn't risk going after their families, not unless they wanted to bring about suspicion. They'd want to be as stealthy as they could with this. So it had to be something else. And the only thing they could think of that would explain the teacher's behavior was if there was an accident.

As they walked to where Mr. Wilter was, following him back into the school and down the hallway, Rudy felt a lump in his throat. If there was an accident... He gulped. He hoped that his family wasn't hurt too badly. Or Penny's mom, either. There was a reason they were both called and he was certain it was because both their parents were in trouble. Mr. Wilter was probably going to take them to the principal's office to discuss what had happened.

And, at first, that appeared to be where they were going. The path they took was the same one they'd take if they were going to Principal Stringet's room. Rudy and Penny mentally prepared themselves for what they were about to learn. They kept quiet the whole time, never once speaking. They ignored the looks they got from random classmates. They just continued to follow through the hallway, staying close to Mr. Wilter.

But when they took another turn, one that led away from the principal's office, that's when they realized something was wrong. Why was Mr. Wilter taking them down a different way? Why weren't they going to the principal's office? There had to be a reason... They could see Mr. Wilter's nervous gestures increasing. They were getting close to their destination, they could tell. But it was nowhere near the principal's office. Just where was this man taking them?

Soon they reached what appeared to be an empty room. Rudy recognized this as Mr. Miller's old room. The room was dusty and hadn't been in use in months, it seemed. Rudy was less worried about the dust and cobwebs all around, not even minding the occasional spider, as he was more concerned with why he was here. Just what was going on?

Then they heard the door shut behind them. They looked over and they saw that Mr. Wilter had locked the door. He turned to them, his eyes shining with guilt. Rudy and Penny stared at him fearfully, taking a few steps away from him. What...what was he doing..?

Mr. Wilter whispered softly, "I'm so sorry..."

It felt as though a lightning bolt had struck them. As soon as those words left his mouth, Rudy and Penny knew they were in big trouble. They looked at each other, each with a look of horror. They had been right to be nervous. They were right be suspicious when Mr. Wilter acted so afraid. Staring fearfully at Mr. Wilter, they moved back a little more, watching as the man stared at them regretfully.

"Nice work, Horace Wilter..."

Rudy and Penny tensed up at that voice. They looked over. Out from the shadow of the room, they could see a tall figure walking forward. They felt their bodies begin to shudder when they recognized it as Terry Bouffant. Their hearts skipped a beat as dread welled up in their stomachs. How...how did she...?

Terry grinned as she stopped a few feet away from them. Her arms were folded against her chest. She had a triumphant smile on her face. "I knew you had it in you..."

Mr. Wilter narrowed his eyes. "You forced me to do it..."

Terry chuckled. "I would keep your anger under control." She waggled her finger. "Remember our little deal..."

Mr. Wilter opened his mouth to speak. Then he stopped himself, lowering his head in defeat. "Yes..I know.."

"Good.." Terry said. She turned her gaze to Rudy and Penny. Her eyes narrowed slightly, a hint of anger. "Ah, Tabootie and his faithful companion, Sanchez...At last, we have you right where we want you." Her voice grew dark and threatening as she said that.

"We...?" Rudy managed to get out.

Terry snapped her fingers. From another part of the room, there was another figure, this one shorter, thicker. Rudy and Penny took a step back as they saw Vinnie walking up towards them, taking a stand next to Terry. Rudy and Penny couldn't believe it. They didn't know how these two managed to pull this off...but they did.. They forced Mr. Wilter to take them into this room, threatening him into silence, and now they were trapped here with them.

The realization that they were trapped in a room with ChalkZone's worst enemies, two humans who knew of its existance and were trying to do whatever they could to expose it, terrifed them. They could feel a cold chill freezing them to their bones. What were they going to do? How were they going to get out of this?

"Now...you two are going to be good little children." Vinnie said, grinning nastily at them. "You are going to help us get into ChalkZone so we can get more zoners to the labs."

"Yes...you see, the scientists were quite impressed and they want to see more. They want more specimens." Terry said. "And we told them we would deliver."

"What if we don't help?" Rudy asked, narrowing his eyes and trying to sound brave. "What would you do?"

Vinnie grinned at this. "We thought you might say that. And we've come prepared." He took a step forward. "And trust us...you do not want us to resort to this."

Penny gritted her teeth. "Just what did you plan on doing? Were you going to...?"

"Draw on the chalkboard?" Terry interrupted suddenly, cutting her off. Rudy and Penny widened their eyes at this. She smiled in response. "Yes, we know all about that little trick. And no, we aren't afraid to use it, if we see it fit. So why don't you skip all that unnecessary drama, and help us...?"

Rudy was frozen in terror. He looked over at Penny, exchanging a look of horror with her. He couldn't believe this was happening. His fear of these two creepazoids using the chalkboard against them...it had become a reality. He felt his body shiver as he realized the full implication of that. It meant disaster for all of ChalkZone. Who knows what these two would draw just to keep them in line... RUdy didn't want to know just what sort of monstrosities they would come up with.

His mind raced as he struggled to think of something. He could see Penny trying to come up with an idea as well. Like him, she was having a difficult time. Once in a while, she'd glance over at him. He felt his heart tug when he saw her expression. Desperation...and hope. She was silently pleading with him to come up with something, as he might be doing with her. One of them has to come up with some kind of plan, and fast. If they don't...neither of them didn't want to think of what would happen.

"I do hope you two choose what is right. I'd hate to think of what would happen if you end up doing something you might regret." Terry said with a grin. She ignored the glares she got from Rudy and Penny. "We would hate to have to resort to such...unscrupulous measures. But, eh, whatever gets results, am I right, you little brat..?"

Rudy flinched as he saw the way Terry was looking at him. He involuntarily gulped and took a small step back. That expression in her eyes.. He knew it all too well. He got the same look from Skrawl. It was the look of vengeance. Terry...was getting him back. A quick glance to Vinnie showed that he carried a similiar expression.

He had no doubt in his mind. That was part of the motivation behind why they were doing this. Revenge. They wanted him to pay for him stopping their exposure of ChalkZone. He had become a thorn in their side and they were going to teach him a lesson. And they knew just where to strike him. His heart. They knew he cared about ChalkZone, and they were using that against him.

He had to wonder just how far they would go with this. How far would they take their vengeance? How far did they want to drag him down before they were satisfied? Would they even stop after this?

"This is a low blow..." Penny hissed at them.

"Whatever you say, kiddo." Vinnie waved his hand dismissively. "This wouldn't have happened if you two hadn't interfered. All I wanted to do was build a theme park for everyone to enjoy." He raised his hands in the air. "Was that so wrong?"

"You were going to enslave zoners!" Rudy snarled at him. At this point, it didn't really matter if Wilter heard what he said or not. It was going to be unavoidable, and if they dodged the subject, something awful would happen. They'll have to deal with Wilter later. "Biclops showed me what you were planning on doing! You're despicable!"

Vinnie stared at the boy for a few seconds. Then he smiled softly. "I don't see why you care so much about those zoners, kid. They aren't really alive. At least...not like us." He took a step forward, his dark eyes glued to the boy. "Do you really think the public would really care about them? Sorry, but I don't think the people would exactly cheer for zoner rights. They would find the idea of giving rights to drawings as absurd!"

"And besides...their existence is such a baffling nature." Terry's arms were folded against her chest. "You see, the scientists are wondering just how they can be alive when they are made of chalk. That is why they want more zoners to experiment on."

Rudy's eyes blazed. "Zoners aren't lab rats!"

Terry chuckled at this. "And they ain't people either, kid." She tilted her head a little to the side. She broadened her grin. "No one is going to care if they are in pain. And the results that will come from the testing could be beneficial. Who knows?" She moved her head forward, her eyes practically glowing. "It just might save your pathetic life someday."

"You're monsters! How could you do such a thing to innocent people?!" Penny cried. "Zoners are just as alive as we are, and we know you know that, too! But despite knowing it, you still went and hurt our best friend!"

Rudy joined in. "He hadn't done a damn thing to you!" Rudy ignored the surprised expressions he got from everyone in the room. He didn't usually use words like 'damn', but right now, he was so angry he just didn't care. "And you went and did something like that to him.. How could you be so cruel...?!"

Rudy's mind was flooded with thoughts of Snap. He recalled how frightened and shaken Snap looked when he first saw him the other day, when Dr. Lyson brought him over. He remembered how Snap latched onto him, and refused to let go. He recalled how scared he was at the hospital and how he didn't want him or Penny to leave his side. He was a frightened little child, and it was all because of these two bastards. It was all their fault.

Terry cocked an eyebrow. "He didn't do anything to us? Oh contrare, you little brat." Her eyes narrowed. "He humiliated me on national television. He's part of the reason why I lost my well-deserved reputation."

"That was my idea! Snap was just following my plan!" Rudy cried. "He had nothing to do with it! It was me! I'm the one who humiliated you!"

Terry chuckled. "Yes, I know. But still, the little blue runt did get involved." She turned her head to the side, staring at Rudy with one eye. "He still played a part, so he's just as guilty as you are, kid." She turned her head back. Her eyes seemed to glint. "That little brat deserved what he got."

Rudy and Penny growled at this. Their eyes blazed in anger. They could feel their blood start to heat up. They were soon unaware that Mr. Wilter was in the room, watching with a confused and wary expression. Their eyes were solely locked onto these jerks, the ones responsible for Snap's condition.

Vinnie said, "And he also helped you to get me out of ChalkZone. He needed to be taught a lesson about interfering with the big boys!" He took a step forward, hunching his body a little to look more threatening. "And so do you two..."

Rudy and Penny took a step back, but still held their ground. They glared back at the two evil adults. If they were going to try to threaten them into submission, they would have to try harder than that. No way they'd give in emotionally to these adults. They'd remain defiant until the very end.

Terry and Vinnie looked amused by this. This only served to make Rudy and Penny angrier. Of course they'd see this as a joke. To them, they're just a bunch of kids a little too obsessed with their drawings. They think that, just because they are adults, they know better. These two hardly spent any time in ChalkZone. They didn't understand it the way he and Penny did. They could never hope to appreciate ChalkZone. They just look at it and see big dollar signs.

"Face it, you two. Your little blue friend would not be in this mess if he didn't tangle with us!" Vinnie said, jabbing a finger in their direction. "Though maybe now, he will learn to mind his own business." Vinnie continued as he folded his arms against his chest. Rudy and Penny growled at this.

"By the way..." The two turned to Terry, who was now speaking. The red-haired woman was tapping her finger thoughtfully against her chin, her eyes facing upwards. "I have to wonder something..." She turned her gaze towards Rudy and Penny. She smiled cruelly at them and said, "How is your little friend...?"

At this, Rudy and Penny felt their blood boil over. Terry had said that in such a rude and taunting way... How dare she... How dare she mock their friendship with Snap... How dare she treat this like it wasn't some big deal... They trembled in anger as they glared at her.

"Yeah.. How is the little runt doing after that traitorous scientist took him from us?" Vinnie asked. "We would love to know..."

"I do wonder if he's learned his lesson. Then again, he's just a zoner. I'm sure the thought never crossed his mind..." Terry said, grinning evilly. "..because he doesn't have one."

Rudy's fists shook in anger. His mind was becoming clouded with rage. His body trembled. He started to move forward. He felt a hand grip his. He looked over and saw Penny. She looked just as angry as he did, and for good reason. Vinnie and Terry were mocking Snap. They were verbally abusing him without him even being here. How could they do something like this? He was the reason he was hurt so bad... How could they break his arm and so heartlessly dismiss it like this..?

Rudy was tempted to rush towards these two. His anger was seeping through his body, giving him a cold chill. A part of him wanted to just charge these two and make them pay for what they did. The thought scared him a little. He was never one to be physically violent. It was just..these two had been so cruel to Snap, and the way they were treating his pain like it was some kind of joke... It was understandable he would feel this way. But despite his urge to charge them, he managed to keep enough control to keep himself planted where he currently stood.

"You..." Rudy said through clenched teeth, grinding them together.

"How dare you..." Penny chimed in, lowering her head slightly. "How could you treat our friend like he was lower than dirt?"

Vinnie folded his arms. "Easy." He grinned. "That's because he is lower than dirt. He's dust. Nothing but chalk dust."

Terry nodded her head in agreement. "He is just a zoner. He is worthless. He is only valuable as long we say he is." Rudy and Penny snarled at the two adults, causing them both to give them an amused look. "We understand that you consider Snap a friend. That thing really made an impact on you two, didn't it?"

"He's not a 'thing'!" Rudy shouted defensively. "And don't you fucking dare call him an 'it'!"

"Oh my my...what a temper." Vinnie chortled. "Getting all upset over something that doesn't really mean much. And here I thought I had a bad temper."

"Snap is more human than you two will ever be!" Penny snarled, her eyes narrowed dangerously and teeth gritted. "He doesn't go around treating others the way you had treated him!"

"More human than us? Don't make us laugh, kid." Vinnie looked at Penny, an amused expression on his face.

"Snap is nothing more than a mere drawing. It is replaceable. It is expendable. And the sooner you two realize that, the smoother this will go." Terry said coldly.

Rudy and Penny glared hatefully at the two humans. Their bodies trembled in anger. How dare these two monsters talk about Snap like he was just some mere object... How dare they dismiss his sentience like that even though they had seen for themselves Snap was just as alive as they were... How fucking dare they...

"We've wasted enough time talking about your little pet creature..." Terry said. She waved a hand out in front of her in gesture. "How about you two help us gain more of those..wild animals...?"

"Wild animals...?" Rudy spluttered, unable to believe what he just heard. "Wild animals?! Is that what you think they are?!"

Vinnie chuckled darkly. "We don't think. We know. They're not human and they don't live in human capitivity." He pointed a large finger at the children. "So therefore, they're wild animals. And wild animals must be...tamed before the general public can 'use' them per say."

Rudy and Penny growled at this, seeting at the two evil humans before them. They knew Vinnie and Terry were bad news, but they never thought they'd take things this far. They realized now, more than ever, just how dangerous it was to expose ChalkZone. With creepazoids like these running around...

Rudy shuddered to think what would happen to ChalkZone if they let these people in. They were terrified to know just how the zoners would be treated. If Vinnie and Terry are the ones who ultimately spread the word, no doubt they would tell people that zoners aren't sentient, or at least neglect to tell them that. They don't give a shit about zoner rights or safety. All they care about was making money and proving to the world they were right. If they were allowed to have their way, the lives of zoners would be forever destroyed, ripped apart by greedy humans who wished to exploit their world.

He couldn't let that happen. There..there just had to be a way out of this, somehow. He just had to think really hard. There had to be a way to prevent them from getting into ChalkZone. There had to be a way to make them back off. Yet, no matter what he thought, he couldn't think of anything they'd agree on or would react to. There's that footage, but they didn't have it, and he had no idea if the police would find them here in time. There was the phone, but he couldn't reach it without Vinnie and Terry knowing, and they would certainly draw something dangerous on the chalkboard to stop him.

"Listen, kids." Terry's cold voice shot through the room. She stared intensely at Rudy and Penny as she took a few steps towards them. "I don't know why you care so much about those...things. And I don't think most people would either. You're just a couple of brats who have had free reign of that other world for too long. It's time to let the adults pick up things from here. You're obviously too lost in your idealistic mental world you fail to see the reality before you."

Vinnie frowned and nodded his head curtly. "Yeah. You're lucky you didn't get hurt." He thrust a thumb against his chest. "You should be thanking us that we are doing something to make sure you don't get hurt again."

"By enslaving zoners?!" Penny cried, her eyes wide in anger. "You're still hurting people!"

"Oh please!" Vinnie rolled his eyes. "They're just dust! The whole lot of them! And if it upsets you that much, well guess what? You can redraw them! They're immortal, the pests!"

"That whole chalk world is infested with those zoners. They're like cockroaches. So long as people draw on the chalkboards, they exist." Terry said coolly. "There's no changing that. So why you think it's so important to keep them safe, I'll never understand. And perhaps it's best that I don't. You children are too disillusioned..." She paused and stared at Rudy. "No wonder you're having some trouble in school, kid."

Rudy's eyes widened at this and he stared at Terry in shock. How did she know that? How could she possibly have known that? Just...just how much following around had she done..?

"I do hope you enjoy your art, kid. Because that's all you have on your side." Terry said to Rudy, her dark-colored eyes locking onto his green ones. "You'll never live up to be anything..."

"Now see here..."

Everyone looked over at Mr. Wilter in surprise. The teacher had stood there for the past several mintues in silence. He was clearly confused by what was going on and didn't really know what to say to contribute. For him to speak up at all, it was quite a surprise. The man focused his attention on Terry, taking a few steps towards the woman.

"I know Rudy doesn't always perform well... And I know that he has an...obsession with drawing cartoons," Mr. Wilter said. He pointed a finger at Terry. "But I think you're going too far with..."

"Oh can it, will you, old timer?" Vinnie snarled, cutting the man off. He folded his arms against his chest. "Or do we need to resort to..." He smiled. "Well you know..."

Terry smirked at Mr. Wilter. "Take another step, and our deal is off."

Mr. Wilter paused, freezing where he was. He stared at Terry and Vinnie in fear. He looked over at Rudy and Penny, giving them an apologetic look before taking a few steps back. He lowered his head in submission. The sight of this made Rudy and Penny wonder just what those two did to make him submit like this. Hearing chuckling, they swiveled their heads in the direction of their adversaries, narrowing their eyes in disgust.

Terry just smiled at the children, as did Vinnie. They didn't seem to really care how angry they were. Instead, they looked sickenly satisfied of what they were doing. Satisfied that they appeared to have the upperhand, that they would most likely get what they want. And as much as Rudy and Penny would love to prove them wrong, they weren't certain on how they were going to do that. They were pretty much boxed into the wall, and as Terry and Vinnie stood by the chalkboard, knowing that they intended on using it, their options appeared to run very low.

"So, children..." Terry said. She lifted up a piece of chalk, causing Rudy and Penny's eyes to widen. "Shall we begin?" She moved the chalk against the board, threatening to pull it down. "Or do we have to..."

"Wait! Please don't!" Rudy cried, his eyes wide in terror. "Y-You can't!"

"Oh, can't I?" Terry asked mockingly.

"Please, you...you have to.." Penny stammered, her teeth gritted in fear.

"If you want us to stop, you know what to do.." Vinnie said, holding out his own chalk to the board. "Otherwise, Terry and I here will unleash a...pleasant surprise on your little dust friends..."

Rudy and Penny watched, fear and dread filling their minds, as Vinnie and Terry both held a piece of chalk to the board, knowing full well that, any second, they could move their arms, dragging the chalk behind them and form some kind of weapon or even a monster or whatever else they could come up with. They could see the disgusting smiles on their faces, that look of satisfaction flashing in their eyes. As much as Rudy and Penny wanted to stand up to them...

...just what could they do in this case?

Rudy felt his heart racing, beating against his chest. His mind was spinning. A pounding headache spread throughout. He could feel cold shivers running up and down his spine, feeling as though ice had been injected into him. He was trapped and he realized it. He wanted to be angry. He wanted to yell at these humans for what they were doing. But horror replaced that anger, and he cast a glance at Penny, whose expression showed she was feeling the same emotions. Their stomachs twisted in knots when they realized they really only had one option.

But..no... That can't be the only solution. Rudy refused to believe that their only option was surrender. If they could just think things through a little more, they could find a way out of this without having to let Vinnie and Terry into ChalkZone. There's got to be a way... There has to... Please...let there be a way.

Terry gave a nasty grin. "I see you are at a loss of what to do. Well here's a hint..." She tightened her arm, threatening to pull it down. "Give us a way into ChalkZone."

Vinnie said, "If you don't agree to help us get in here on the count of three, you will so sincerely regret it."

The two children widened their eyes. Mr. Wilter, although not understanding of the situation, looked at them sympathetically.

"One..." Terry said.

Penny shook her head. "No, please.."

"Two..." Vinnie said with a smirk.

Rudy's mind raced. "No you... Please don't..."

Terry opened up her mouth to speak. But before she could, something unexpected happened.

"Freeze!"

Everyone in the room froze at that somewhat muffled voice. They slowly turned their heads to the door. Seconds later, there was a loud bang and then the door came crashing down. A large policeman stood there, wearing dark sunglasses and holding out a gun. Terry and Vinnie both had looks of horror as a group of five policemen rushed into the room quickly. The two humans were instantly surrounded, a total of five guns pointed straight at them.

Mr. Wilter rushed over to Rudy and Penny. He knelt down and pulled the two into a comforting hug. Rudy and Penny held onto him, looking back at Terry and Vinnie, watching the events unfold. It all happened so fast. Just..how did this happen? From Mr. Wilter's expression, it was clear he did not know what was going on either. But if he didn't do something then...how did these policemen...?

"H-How?!" Vinnie cried, looking left and right.

"Where did you guys come from?!" Terry shouted. She looked over at Rudy and Penny. She narrowed her eyes. "You...you did something, didn't you, you worthless brats?!"

Mr. Wilter growled at Terry as he held onto Rudy and Penny protectively. "I would watch your tongue if I were you."

"I'm going to..!" Terry snarled, reaching out towards them. One of the policemen grabbed her by the wrist. "Let go of me! You can't do this!"

"Yeah!" Vinnie cried. "What did we do?"

"Don't play innocent with us." One of the policemen said as he grabbed onto Vinnie. He forced Vinnie's hands behind his back and cuffed him. "We aren't stupid."

"What's the meaning of this?!" Vinnie shouted, his eyes wide in shock, acting as if he really didn't do anything wrong.

"Let us go!" Terry demanded as her arms were forced behind her back. The cold metal of the cuffs touched her skin as her hands were hooked together. She hissed at this and said, "You're making a big mistake! We didn't do anything!"

One of the police officers chuckled coldly. "That's not what this tells us."

At this, the police officer held up what looked like a video tape. Although there was no label on it, the sight of it made Terry and Vinnie cringe in fear. Their faces had gone so pale, they appeared white. Rudy and Penny had never seen that much terror in their enemies' eyes before. It was clear what was on the tape. It was footage of them cruelly breaking Snap's arm. And Terry and Vinnie knew it, their faces etched in horror.

Rudy realized that Dr. Lyson had come through for them. She had gone to the police and showed them that footage. And somehow, she was able to tell them where Terry and Vinnie where. She must have known they'd come here. Maybe she saw them somehow. Whatever happened, however she made it possible, Rudy felt an overwhelming sense of relief and satisfaction strike him as he watched the two creepazoids getting taken down. He moved closer to Mr. Wilter, for once feeling glad that he was there. He didn't know what he was going to say about the chalk world, but he'd think of that later. For now, he kept his attention on Vinnie and Terry, watching them.

"How did you get a hold of that...?" Terry asked, her soft, breathless voice tinged with absolute fear.

"That's none of your business." One of the officers snarled at her.

Terry and Vinnie were grabbed by two officers each. Both their arms were grabbed and they were dragged towards the door. They struggled momentarily, but realized they didn't have much of a choice and followed reluctantly. They shot a glare at the kids before being yanked to the side and dragged towards the door.

"You two are under arrest. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say or do..." The fifth officer's voice faded in the hallway and in seconds, they were out of sight.

For a few moments, it was silent. Rudy and Penny tried to comprehend what just happened. They were confronted and menaced by Vinnie and Terry. They weren early forced to make a horrific deal that would have ruined the lives of countless zoners. And then, just when they thought they had been boxed into a corner, a miracle happens, and the police arrive. And now the biggest enemies in ChalkZone were being dragged away, apprehended and taken somewhere where they knew they'd no longer be a threat.

The police knew about them breaking Snap's arm. They knew they were guilty. The footage alone was enough to trap those two in jail for a long time. The realization that ChalkZone was safe from them hit the two children full force. It was overwhelming...and satisfying at the same time. They couldn't be happier. And best of all, Snap was going to get closure. Vinnie and Terry hurt him really bad, and now they will get karma biting them back. Terry and Vinnie stood no chance of getting out of jail anytime soon. No one was going to believe their side of the story, no matter what wild tales they tell, not after the people see that footage.

They were taken out of their thoughts when they heard footsteps coming down the hallway. Still holding onto each other, the three humans looked over their shoulders to see a woman with auburn hair and a scientist suit walking in. Rudy instantly recognized who she was.

"Dr. Lyson..." Rudy said in a soft voice.

The scientist noticed Rudy immediately and she walked over towards him, Penny, and Mr. Wilter. She wore a worried as she approached, her eyes widened and mouth part way open.

"Rudy." Dr. Lyson said as she drew closer. She kept her eyes locked onto Rudy's and soon she stopped a few feet in front of the group. She glanced over and noticed Penny. She turned her attention back to Rudy. "Are you two okay?"

Rudy nodded his head. His mind was still wrapping around what just transpired. "Yeah, we're okay." He rubbed the back of his head a little. "A little shaken...but we're okay."

"Mr. Raton and Ms. Bouffant have been taken care of, miss." Mr. Wilter said. He rose up to his feet, keeping a comforting hand on Rudy and Penny. He glanced down sympathetically at them. "I don't know why those two wanted Rudy and Penny so badly..." He paused for a moment, and added, "And I don't know about this...chalk world they keep mentioning."

Rudy and Penny's eyes widened at this. They gave each other a nervous glance. They had nearly forgotten that Mr. Wilter was here the whole time, listening to everything. There was no doubt in their minds that he could sense just how real their emotions were. That meant that he must know that they where being serious about ChalkZone. Horror clutched at their hearts as they realized there was still a problem to be dealt with.

Mr. Wilter shook his head. "But...no matter on that for now." He closed his eyes and folded his hands behind his back. "I think there's been enough...problems for today. I'm too...unsettled right now to listen to tales of this chalk place." He gazed down at Rudy and Penny. "I'm sure you two would rather not talk about it right now, am I right?"

The two children wanted to say something, but refrained from doing so. They weren't really sure just how they should respond. If they weren't careful, they might accidentally get it into Mr. Wilter's head that ChalkZone was real. And they don't even know if the really does think it's real or not. He could just be startled from what happend and not thinking very clearly.

But regardless, the fear of Mr. Wilter finding out about ChalkZone was still there, tugging away at their hearts. They both knew the consequences of such a thing. Mr. Wilter could cause a lot of problems if he ever did find out for certain. He might see ChalkZone as a threat and try to cut off all access to it...

Not to mention the fact that he might spread the word about it to other people. The thought was chilling. ChalkZone could handle threats from zoners, as Rudy and Penny could both handle them with the use of magic chalk. But a creator? They would be in big trouble. A creator could make anything they wanted to. Beast, weapon, traps, whatever they desired. Zoners would be largely helpless against them. They would be harder to take down, especially if professional artists with more experience were involved.

Unsure of how else to respond, Rudy nodded his head slowly. "Yeah..."

Penny nodded in agreement. "I still can't believe they..." She shook her head. Then her eyes widened slightly as a thought seemed to have crossed her mind. "Just how did they manage to...?"

Mr. Wilter understoood what Penny was going to say and immediately answered, "They blackmailed me."

"With what?" Penny asked.

Mr. Wilter's eyes widened slightly and then he turned his head away. "I'd...rather not talk about it." He turned his attention back to the confused children. He nudged them forward a little. "You two can go back outside and play..." He paused and then said, "I'm...going to talk to the principal about this..."

"Good idea." Dr. Lyson spoke up. "After what happened..and right under her nose, too..." She shook her head. "As soon as I saw them sneak in, I.."

"They snuck in?" Rudy asked, staring at the woman. "Is that how...?"

Dr. Lyson nodded her head. "I was driving by when I saw them climb in through a window this morning."

"This morning?" Rudy was shocked by this. "You mean they were hiding in the school all morning?"

"But...how? They would have been spotted!" Penny cried.

"Normally they would..." Mr. Wilter spoke up. "But they chose a good hiding spot, and they were very patient." He closed his eyes, as if reliving some awful memory. "When you kids went out to recess, they confronted me. I tried to get them to leave. Tried to call the principal, but they threatened me. They used blackmail to force me to do what they said." He looked at Rudy and Penny with remorse. "I don't know why they wanted you two kids, but I am sorry I got involved."

"It's okay. It wasn't your fault." Penny said. Mr. Wilter gave a small smile at this.

"What did you do when you saw them?" Rudy asked.

"I went over to the police station as fast as I could. They didn't believe me at first, until I showed them what those two did to your friend, Snap." Dr. Lyson said. "I showed them the video of them breaking his arm. That was all that they needed to see before they ordered for their arrest. I led them to this school as soon as I could."

Rudy and Penny couldn't help but smile. They were grateful for this woman's actions. Because of her, ChalkZone was safe and Snap was going to get closure. She had been there to help Snap escape that horrible place, putting her job on the line to save someone in danger. Not everyone would be willing to do such a thing. And now she just helped to save them all from a terrible fate. And what made it more touching is that she had actually came here, leading the police to this location. She could have just told them and that was it; but instead she came here, as if she wanted to make sure that everything was taken care of.

Rudy felt as though she owed the woman something. He wanted to do something for her as a way of repaying her kind gestures. But he couldn't think of anything he could do. He didn't want to just do nothing, though. He didn't want to just stand there and not show his gratitude to this kind woman. He felt like he had to do something to show just how appreciative he is for all she had done for them.

So he acted upon the first thing that came to his mind.

The boy walked over towards Dr. Lyson. He stopped a foot in front of her. He looked up at her, staring at her intently. She turned the gaze. Then, without warning, Rudy wrapped his arms around Dr. Lyson, hugging her.

"Thank you..." Rudy spoke softly. "For all your help."

Dr. Lyson widened her eyes at this, then she smiled and returned the hug. "You're welcome.

Moments later, Penny joined in the hug. Dr. Lyson embraced the two children, both whispering soft words of gratitude to her. Mr. Wilter kept his distance, but smiled nonetheless. All of them were happy that this ordeal was coming to a close.

sss

Penny took in a deep breath and let out a sigh of relief. It has been about two weeks since the incident with Vinnie and Terry, and things were looking up. She couldn't help but smile as she realized just how much as improved since that terrible event.

Snap's progress in the hospital was great. His arm was still in a sling, but the doctors are impressed with how well he's doing. The arm was recoverying very well, especially for a compound fracture. The doctors think that the makeshift cast he had to wear helped to reduce some of the damage, providing protection that warded off at least some infection. Snap still needed to take antibiotics, but the infection was, thankfully, kept in check and Snap didn't suffer much side effects from it. The doctors believed that his arm should no longer need the sling after another month.

That was definitely good news. She and Rudy had been so happy to hear that. His prognosis was so well he was able to return to his own home, although Blocky temporarily moved in to help him around the house. Snap didn't seem to mind and rather enjoyed the company. After what he had been through, no one could really blame him.

But though Snap was recovering physically, mentally, there were still some issued. The poor guy would have nightmares almost every night of what happened. Blocky described him as waking up screaming, crying out 'stop hurting me please' and other similar phrases. When confronted about it, Snap confessed that he's been having nightmares of when Vinnie and Terry held him hostage. She and Rudy felt so bad for him and they wanted to help in some way.

Penny had managed to convince Snap that the best thing he could do was talk about his experiences at that horrible place, right down to how he was kidnapped. Snap was afraid to speak about it and tried to avoid the topic. But Penny wouldn't give up. She had told Snap that it will only get worse the longer he doesn't speak up. Rudy agreed with her and helped her try to convince Snap to talk. It took a little while, but eventually they got Snap to tell them what happened.

He mentioned how he had been ambushed by Boorat. This time, he hadn't been after the magic chalk, but Snap himself. He grabbed Snap and ran off with him. Rudy had apparently not closed the portal at the time due to being dragged off by his mother too quickly for him to do anything, though thankfully she didn't notice the portal. Boorat took Snap towards the back entrance, where Rudy and his family were not present, and had ran off with Snap down the street. Not far down, hidden amongst the shrubbery, where Terry and Vinnie. They got into the van together and drove off.

Snap had asked them what they plan on doing and if they were going to try the whole TV exposure thing again. Terry and Vinnie told him that they have other plans for him, although they didn't detail what it was. But Snap got a good preview of just how serious his predicament was when Terry and Vinnie just...erased Boorat out of the blue. Snap recalled Boorat's shocked and terrified screams when he was sprayed with water. When asked why they did it, the two coldly stated they didn't need the rat anymore.

Once he was there, he was strapped down and threatened to be killed if he tried to use his 2D powers at all. That was why he hadn't been able to escape the breaking of his arm; he would have died if he tried. He talked about Terry and Vinnie told the scientists how Snap was made of chalk and how they could provide proof. They were trying to gain some new allies and believed if they got some smart people on their side, they would be unstoppable. The scientists agreed to help, but only if Vinnie and Terry proved to them that Snap was a 'chalk creature'.

Snap was treated horribly by the scientists, as if he either didn't exist or was just some wild animal. They talked about all kinds of cruel, sick experiments they were going to perform on him in case he did turn out to be real. They showed absolutely no regard for his safety and not one of them had been kind to him. Snap said he was lucky that the scientists never had a chance to try those experiments, otherwise he wasn't sure what kind of condition he would be in now. The main things that happened to him were Terry's failed attempt to draw blood and the breaking of his arm.

The heartbreaking story took a positive turn when Snap told them, with a small smile on his face, how he woke up to Dr. Lyson being in the room. He said that she blocked the lock to keep the others out, gave him a makeshift cast to protect his break, and got him out of there. She was the only scientist there who had been kind to him.

Rudy and Penny were, again, grateful that Dr. Lyson helped out. It was great that someone there had actually cared what was being done to Snap, instead of just dismissing it like the others. If it hadn't been for her act of kindness, Snap might still be trapped in that horrible place...

Penny shook the unsettling thoughts out of her head. Snap was safe now and that was what mattered. And it wasn't like Terry, Vinnie, or the other scientists could do much of anything anyway. The scientists got off easy, losing just their lab. But Terry and Vinnie weren't so lucky. The trial had taken place about a week ago, and it went over really well. Well except for Terry and Vinnie, of course. With the evidence Dr. Lyson provided, they stood no chance.

Snap was really brave, taking the stand like he did and providing the story of what happened, without saying anything in regards to ChalkZone. When he revealed that Terry and Vinnie had been trying to prove he was made of chalk and broke him arm only for that reason, there was an outrage among the audience. Of course the two tried to deny it, but Dr. Lyson showed up with the evidence and displayed it for everyone to see. Rudy and Penny both remembered just how horrified they were to see just what happened to Snap, hearing his screams and cries, seeing just how callous Terry and Vinnie were... Snap reacted poorly to seeing that again and he cringed the chair. The judge let him leave and the way Snap acted so afraid made the auidence even more furious with the two cruel people.

They were found guilty and sentenced to... she didn't recall how many years. But they were stuck in jail for a long time with no chance of bail. She and Rudy watched in bitter satisfaction as Terry and Vinnie were dragged off by the cops to being serving their time. They embraced Snap after that and offered to take him to the movies to help him calm down.

Though Snap's mental wounds had healed some, there was still a lot of recovery to do. She and Rudy hoped that, one day, Snap could return completely to the Snap they once knew. It hurt them to see their friend this way, so scared, so frightened...

Then they got an idea. A few days ago, they were speaking to each other in Rudy's bedroom when they realized the Christmas gathering was coming up. They knew that Snap would probably have a great time with them, and it would help him get his mind off what happened, help him focus on more positive things. It could help him heal more mentally. After what he's been through, he certainly deserved to have some fun.

But Snap wasn't entirely sure.

Penny, as well as Rudy, were in Snap's beach home, sitting on the furniture as they told Snap about their plans. Though Snap seemed excited at first, he then started to grow nervous. And the reason for it, both her and Rudy completely understood.

"Are you...sure it will work?" Snap asked nervously. He shifted his gaze left and right. "No one is going to try to figure out if I'm chalk...right?"

Penny looked at Snap sympathetically. He was being irrational, but she knew why he was acting like that. During his capture, he was constantly bombarded with the threat of being exposed as a chalk creature. And since it was brought up in the trial, that may have peaked some people's curiosity. Rudy's parents had been at the trial. She understood that Snap was just worried that they might be curious and take a closer look at him. She doubted they would hurt him, but she knew that them discovering he was made of chalk would have repurcussions later.

"Don't worry, Snap. It will be okay." Penny said in a reassuring voice.

"Yeah." Rudy placed a hand on Snap's shoulder. "You'll see. You're going to have a great time there. I know you can't eat or drink anything in the real world, but you can still play games with us! And sing and watch some movies, and my little cousin Sophie will be there. I'm sure she'll be happy to see you again!"

Snap managed a small smile. "Yeah, that little tike was kinda cute." He paused, and then he pointed his round hand at Rudy. "Hey, aren't you worried she might expose me for being a zoner?"

"What? Soph?" Rudy shrugged his shoulders, smiling. "Nah don't worry about it!" He waved his hands out in front of him. "Sophie is only two years old. Even if she said there was a whole other world made of chalk and that Penny and I go there all the time, what are my folks going to do? They would just think Sophie had an active imagination."

"Well, you do have a point there, Bucko." Snap rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"So what do you say?" Penny asked. Snap looked over at her. "Will you come with us? We would be thrilled to have you for company." She grinned. Rudy nodded in agreement, smiling gleefully himself.

Snap still looked uncertain, despite the reassurance regarding Sophie. Perhaps there was something else on his mind. Yes, when they looked into his eyes, they could see something else was troubling him now that was preventing him from saying yes. Rudy spoke up first this time.

"What is it, Snap?" Rudy asked. He gently squeezed Snap's shoulder. Snap looked up at him worriedly. "It's okay Snap... You can tell me..."

"Well...I..." Snap turned his head away, averting gaze. "What if they...don't want me around?"

Rudy and Penny widened their eyes in shock at this. They glanced at each other and then back at Snap. Snap was worried about that? But why? That sounded so silly, and they wondered if Snap knew how ridiculous that sounded. They huddled closer to their friend, both on either side of him. They lightly pressed against him, careful not to hurt him as they shared body warmth with him. In this manner, they attempted to console him.

"Snap, why wouldn't my folks want you around?" Rudy asked, cocking an eyebrow in confusion.

"Yeah, Snap..." Penny chimed in. She gently squeezed his left hand. "Why are you so worried?"

"Well because this is a family thing..." Snap replied. He kept his gaze down. "And I didn't want to be a bother."

"Snap..." Penny whispered. Her eyes were widened. Was this what Snap was worried about?

"It's not just family, Snap. Penny and her mom are coming, too." Rudy said. "And besides..." He put his arm around Snap and pulled him into a half hug. "You are family to me. I don't care what anyone says." He gently rubbed his head against Snap's affectionately. "You're my little brother. I love you."

"And I love you as well." Penny moved in closer, joining in the embrace. She pressed her forehead against the side of Snap's head, nuzzling him. "You're like family to me. I'll always see you as my brother. I don't care if you're from another world. You're still family to me."

Snap smiled at this. He closed his eyes, shedding a couple tears of not sadness, but happiness. "Thanks guys..." His smile broadened. "I...love you both. I see you as my siblings as well. As..family..."

The three friends smiled and held onto each other for a few moments. The embrace was welcoming, warm, and kind. It relieved their tension, washed away the sorrow they were feeling, and helped alleviate the stress. Their moods greatly improved, and they all began to relax. Even Snap had managed to calm down after some time of hugging.

When they finally pulled away, Rudy looked down at Snap and said, "My folks wouldn't mind you coming over, Snap. I already spoke to them about it."

"You did?" Snap asked.

Rudy nodded, grinning. "Yeah." He held up his hand in gesture. "They said they would love to have some more company over."

"So..." Penny said. She met Snap's gaze. "What do you say? Will you come with us?"

Snap lowered his head, averting gaze again. He looked left and right, his mind clearly churning its wheels as he tried to think of an answer. After what felt like a minute of silence, Snap looked back up at them again. At first, he looked uncertain again, and Rudy and Penny were about to say something when Snap slowly smiled.

"Okay..." Snap nodded his head. "I'll come with you." His smile broadened.

Overcome with positive emotion, Rudy and Penny gave Snap a couple of the biggest grins they ever did. They pulled him into another gentle hug.

"I'm so happy you could say that..." Penny said. "You will have a lot of fun. I promise."

"Yeah, Snap. You're going to really enjoy yourself." Rudy agreed.

"I'm sure I will." Snap said, a smile still etched on his face. "...I know I will."

sss

"Okay then, Sophie. It's your turn." Snap said. Sophie giggled in response and started to make her move.

Snap and Sophie were laying on the ground in the living room, not far from the couch. They rested on their stomachs. Snap took tare not to put pressure on his broken arm. There was still a lot of healing to be done and he was not going to take the risk of injuring himself more. But it wasn't the physical pain that bothered him the most. It was the emotional. Any pain he felt in the arm reminded him of when Vinnie and Terry broke his arm...

He shook his head. Now wasn't the time for that. Now was the time to have some fun. He pushed aside the thoughts and fears he had of the past, and turned his attention to what was going on right now. He watched as Sophie reached for another puzzle piece. She picked t up and started to look for where it went. He smiled at this. Sophie looked so cute as she laughed and giggled and had fun trying to solve a puzzle.

After a few moments and Sophie started to look a little concerned, Snap offered some encouragement. "Don't worry, Sophie. You can do it!" He said with a grin.

Sophie stared at him, and then she clapped her hands. "Snappy!" She looked down at the puzzle. She seemed to quickly realize where the piece went and placed it down. She let out a cheer and clapped happily. "Snappy! Snappy!" She cried, displaying the puzzle as if she were trying to please Snap.

The zoner's smile broadened a tad. "That's great, Sophie! My turn now."

Snap looked down at the puzzle piece pile next to him. He had been told by Tilly that Sophie liked playing with other people, and so he came up with an idea on how to make a puzzle 'two player'. Sophie would get one pile and he'd get another, and they'd take turns placing the pieces down. This did make it more challenging, but that also helped it feel more rewarding in the end as he and the girl made progress. There were no winners or losers in the end. Just a game, and they were going to finish it together.

"I see you're having a good time." A voice called out.

Snap turned his head and looked up. He could see Mrs. Tabootie walking up to him. She smiled broadly down at him and Sophie, holding her hands together. Snap offered a smile back, giving a nod of acknowledgement. Mrs. Tabootie stopped at Snap's side. She lowered herself beside him.

"I am glad to see you got over your anxiety and are having fun now. It would have been a shame if you came all the way over here from Greenland and you were still depressed." Mrs. Tabootie said. She looked down at his broken arm, her expression lightening into concern for a few moments. "I'm so sorry about what happened."

Snap nodded his head. He and his friends had told the adults about what happened. But they were able to tell it in a way that the folks weren't suspicious regarding Snap's origins. The parents were informed that Snap's arm was broken by Vinnie and Terry, and how they were trying to prove he was made of chalk. This, of course, was enough to make the adults shake their head in disgust and refer to the two as lunatics. Even if Terry and Vinnie explained the entire story, it wouldn't be enough to convince the adults about Snap really being made of chalk.

Snap did feel relieved that they were able to tell the story without changing too many details. He was still pretty shaken up, and with what happened, he and his friends weren't in the mood to come up with an elaborate lie. At least it was over now. Vinnie and Terry were gone, arrested and sent to jail, and he didn't have to see them anymore. A bunch of the scientists were arrested, too, if he remembered right.

"Yeah, it's okay..." Snap said softly. He flinched as he felt a bit of pain echoing in his arm.

Mrs. Tabootie looked at him sympathetically. "Are you sure you don't want any painkillers? I have some..."

"No thank you." Snap shook his head. "The doctor prescribed me my own painkillers and I'm only allowed to take it on a tight schedule that he gave me. I'm not due for another pill until sometime after I go home."

"Okay then." Mrs. Tabootie said. She paused, and then said, "Can I at least get you something to drink? Or eat?"

"Nah, I'm good." Snap replied. "I'm not really hungry or thirsty right now. Besides, Rudy already brought me a bag of snacks. If I'm hungry, I'll just eat that." He motioned his hand over to the bag of snacks sitting not far from him.

Mrs. Tabootie looked at the bag, then back at Snap. She smiled softly and nodded her head. "Okay then, Snap." She stood up and, looking at Snap for a few seconds, she walked back towards the couch.

Snap watched her as she walked away. He couldn't help but smile. The adults had been nothing but kind to him. He almost couldn't remember why he was nervous in the first place. A part of him wondered if a part of that was due to how he was treated in the laboratory. It hadn't been a pleasant experience...

"Snappy!" Sophie cried, almost in agitation.

"What? Who?" Snap turned his head from side to side, his eyes bulging open. "Huh?" He soon set eyes on the puzzle piece, which he was still holding. He realized what Sophie wanted and he smiled sheepishly. "Oh. Sorry Sophie." He gave a quick giggle before he scanned the board, looking for where to put the puzzle piece.

He moved his eyes from side to side. He studied the piece he held in his left hand and then at the board, trying to figure out where it might go. He then spotted the place, about the middle. He lowered his hand down and pushed the puzzle piece into position. As it locked, Sophie clapped her hands again. Snap smiled at this. She was such an energetic little toddler. He was glad to be able to meet her again. He had grown fond of her during her short-lived visit into ChalkZone.

"Now it's your turn, little tyke." Snap said with a grin. Sophie, looking ever so cheerful, immediately went to grab another piece.

Snap turned his head towards the couch. Mr. and Mrs. Tabootie were there on the couch, with Rudy sitting between them. Not far, sitting in a chair, was Mrs. Sanchez, and Penny was situated on her lap. Tilly was standing next to the couch, her elbow resting on it. Snap smiled at this. Such a great family moment... This helped to take his mind off of what had happened. This is just what he, and his friends, needed to recooperate from that horrific incident.

Just like Rudy had said, the adults had no problem with him coming over. They welcomed him with open arms. They had been horrified by what happened to his arm and they did what they could to help him feel better. At least, what he and his friends would allow, considering he can't consume real world stuff. They let him join in a few games, and they watched a couple movies. They even sang some songs. And during all of it, Snap had felt his anxiety about the Vinnie and Terry incident slowly shrink down, the happiness starting to become the more dominant portion of his mind. He was glad for that.

Things were now starting to wind down. The parents and their kids were watching another Christmas special. The volume was turned down a little so it wouldn't distract him and Sophie too much from their game. If he heard right, then after the movie, he would have to go home as they were going to call it a night. He was starting to get a little sleepy, anyway.

His thoughts were interrupted when Sophie clapped her heads and gave a loud giggle. She was grinning happily at Snap, her eyes bright like the sun. "Snappy! Play!"

Snap's smile returned as he stared at Sophie. She pointed down at the puzzle, giving a few excitable giggles. Snap looked down at the puzzle and noticed only a few pieces remained. They would be done with this puzzle pretty soon. He looked at his pile of pieces and reached for it. He grabbed a piece and lifted it up. He glanced at it, examining it. Then he turned his attention to Sophie. She stared at him, waiting for him to do something.

Smiling at Sophie, Snap said, "You really love this game, don't you?" Sophie laughed playfully and pointed her finger at the piece, indicating what she wanted. Snap giggled himself. "Okay, let's finish this game." He said as he reached over with the puzzle piece.

sss

Rudy let out a soft groan as he opened up his eyes. He rubbed them with one hand, and wiped off the saliva that stuck to his chin. His blurry vision became sharper as seconds passed. He looked around to see where he was. He didn't quite remember falling asleep here. This looked nothing like his bedroom. The colors were off and the shapes were too different.

He could feel something warm against him. Solid. His eyes widened as, for a moment, he panicked. His heart clenched as he tried to identify what was against him. Why was it moving? He tried to see, but it was too dark to tell exactly what it was. He pushed himself onto his hands, his wide, groggy green eyes staring at the slightly moving form. His mind, still waking up, began making random, quick conclusions about where he was. Maybe he was captured..maybe someone broke in...maybe...

Then he saw a bit of blue. That color...familiar... Rudy's mind searched around, trying to think of who he knew that was blue. Snap.. Yes, Snap. With this revelation, upon closer inspection, Rudy started to see familiar features of this figure in the darkness. The round head, the large eye, the blue mask.. Yes this was Snap all right. As soon as this realization clicked with him, Rudy slowly relaxed, his heart rate slowing down. Before he settled down completely, he see something else, on the other side of Snap. This time, though still a little slow, he made the effort to look over to see who it was.

It was Penny. She was laying on Snap's other side, huddled up against him, just like how Rudy realized he was. Rudy spent a few moments starting at his sleeping friends, his mind trying to piece together the puzzle. What was going on? Why was he asleep here? And just..where was here? He looked around some more, trying to take in as much detail as he could.

Slowly, but surely, he recognized the place. He was in his living room. He and his friends were laying on a blanket not far from the couch. He blinked a few times. When had they fallen asleep here? He rubbed his head, trying to push back the grogginess that was making his eyes feel heavy and making it hard for him to remember. He shook his head a couple of times, letting out a soft groan. He must be really tired if he couldn't even remember falling asleep in front of the television like this.

Rudy soon heard footsteps. He lifted his head up more, balancing himself on his elbow. He could see a shadow walking up to him on long legs. He moved his gaze up. He soon recognized the face of his father. It was a little hard to tell in the light, but he was wearing his pajamas and night cap. He was holding what appeared to be a glass of water.

Mr. Tabootie took notice of his son and smiled at him. "Hey there, son. Having a good sleepover?"

"Sleepover...?" Rudy groaned softly. He didn't remember anything about a sleepover.

"Oh you don't remember? Well you did just wake up, it looks like. Don't worry." Mr. Tabootie pressed a thumb against his chest. "I'll remind you!" Lowering his hand, he said, "After that one movie last night, you and Penny wanted to know if Snap could stay longer. So we ended up putting in another movie. You, Penny, and Snap sat down together, but you didn't watch all of it. The three of you were so tired that you ended up falling asleep. So instead of waking you up, your mother and I, and the others, decided your two friends could sleep over. We didn't want to wake you up, so we just let you three lay together in the living room here."

Rudy felt his mind begin to clear up more as memories floated into his head. Yes, he remembered now. He and Penny wanted Snap to stay longer. Sophie wasn't interested in leaving either, and Tilly had decided to stay a bit. He recalled her having some kind of conversation with Snap while they watched the final movie. Well the new final movie considering the other one was supposed to be the last. Then he remembered getting really tired and...

Well here he was. On the ground with his two best friends, a single large blanket tucked over their bodies to keep them warm. He began to feel pretty silly for getting worked up earlier. How silly of him to think that he had been kidnapped. The incident with Vinnie and Terry must have spooked him more than he had let on. He took in a deep breath, relaxing himself more.

"Well it's time to go back to sleep. It's three in the morning. Get some more rest, okay?" Mr. Tabootie asked as he finished his glass of water. Rudy nodded his head in confirmation. "Oh, and tell Snap he's welcome to stay here however long is permitted." He casted a sympathetic glance on the blue kid. "He certainly deserves the hospitality after..." He sucked on his lip. "Well you know what I'm saying."

Rudy nodded his head solemnly. He tried not to think too much about what Terry and Vinnie had done, what they had said to him. They were locked up in jail now. That footage that Dr. Lyson got set them up for a long time. There was no need to worry about them anymore.

Mr. Tabootie gently patted his son on the head. "Well...goodnight."

"Night, dad." Rudy said. He watched his father left the living room. He took one last look at his two friends, smiling softly, before settling his head and body back on the ground. He closed his eyes, nestling his chin against his folded arms, and drifted back into sleep.

sss

"Hey, Bucko! Buckette! Are you guys ready?" Snap called out. "It's almost time!"

Rudy looked over at his friend. "We'll be there soon, Snap!"

"Yeah, we're almost ready!" Penny called out.

Rudy watched as Snap leaned across the portal, resting his chin on his hand. He looked at Rudy and Penny with a somewhat impatient expression. Rudy couldn't blame him. He and Penny really lost track of time. They promised Snap they'd be ready ten minutes ago, and they still weren't leaving yet. He knew Snap was looking forward to this, and he didn't want to do anything to disappoint his friend.

So he and Penny hurried up. They quickly put on the costumes that they had their parents buy the other day. Rudy cursed to himself for getting a more elaborate costume, with different pieces, frills, and such. It took him forever to get it in, and Penny was no exception. The costumes were what was taking so long. He thought that it would be easy doing this, but he turned out to be wrong. He and Penny had to help each other, and even then it took much longer than desired.

But after toiling around for several more minutes, he and Penny finally got the costumes on. They secured them, tying all the laces and adjusting them. They were covered in brilliant colors and looked pretty silly. Rudy didn't mind, though. Penny was a little more self conscious, but Rudy and Snap's assurance before helped her work up the self esteem to wear something like that. Rudy usually wasn't one for these types of costumes, so he could see Penny's point. But where they were going, such costumes were more or less a necessity, a requirement.

"Come on!" Snap climbed in through the open portal, stepping into Rudy's bedroom. "We don't have much time! The parade could start any moment and I promised them that we would be there before everyone started to march."

Rudy and Penny looked over at their friend. They watched as he held out not just one arm, but both of them, gesturing them to come with him through the portal. The two of them took a moment to reflect on this. It had been two months since the incident. Snap's arm was still weak and he had to wear a brace. But he regained a lot of movement back in it and could use it, so long as he was careful. It was amazing how much progress was made, incredible how much better his arm looked. There was not much of a physical memory left of what had happened to him. This realization made Rudy's mouth tick into a smile, as well with Penny.

It had been a hard several weeks. The pain, on occasion, would get worse, requiring strong pain medication. Nightmares ran rampant and would appear at random. Snap's mental state sometimes plummeted and it was hard to cheer him up. He was constantly nervous about being alone, afraid that he was going to get kidnapped again. Despite reassurances, Snap often couldn't settle down. These moments were especially heartbreaking to watch.

But things slowly improved. His fear and anxiety began to shrink and the nightmares became less and less frequent. The pain in his arm dulled down. It still hurt him, but it was nowhere near as bad as it had been before. And as the pain shrank, his comfort grew. Snap slowly began to shift more and more back to his old personality. He became happier, more playful, more outgoing. The sight of this made Rudy and Penny happy. They were glad to see just how well Snap was doing lately. Seeing how well he had improved brought joy to them, and they hoped that there would continue to be improvement as time went on.

"Okay, Snap, we're ready." Rudy said as he brushed himself off. "Sorry it took so long."

"Oh don't worry about it!" Snap said, waving his hand dismissively. "I'm sure that guy will understand if you two had a little hold up. Now come on!" Snap smiled as he waved to them. He headed towards the portal. "Let's get going!"

The three friends headed towards the portal. But they didn't get too far when something caught their attention.

"Rudy!"

The ten year old boy froze at the opera-like voice that could only have come from his mother. He could hear footsteps and he looked over at the door wide-eyed. Knowing the suspicions that would arise if she found Snap in here, he made a quick motion with his hands. Snap got the message and he dashed towards the closet and hid himself in there. Penny took a cloth and dropped it over the chalkboard, hiding the portal completely.

The door opened up and Mrs. Tabootie peaked inside. "Sorry to interrupt you kids but..." She paused when she took notice of the outfits. "Oh you two look absolutely adorable!"

Rudy blushed in embarrassment at this comment. Penny chuckled lightheartedly and put her hand on his shoulder. Rudy said, "What did you need me for, mom?" He had no desire to stay on the topic of the costumes at the moment. He was more interested to know why his mother suddenly came up.

"You have a visitor." Mrs. Tabootie said.

"What?" Rudy asked. His mom nodded her head. "Who?"

Mrs. Tabootie stepped aside. "Dr. Lyson."

As his mom moved away, Rudy could see a familiar woman standing right there. It was Dr. Lyson alright. She wasn't wearing her doctor's outfit this time, but he knew it was her. There was no mistaking that face. He wondered why she was there. Not that he was upset or anything. She did help save Snap. But it just puzzled him that she would show up out of the blue like this.

"Hello, Rudy. Penny." Dr. Lyson said, waving her hand at them.

"Hi, Dr. Lyson. What brings you here?" Penny asked, stating the question that was on Rudy's mind as well.

"She said she wanted to talk to Rudy about something." Mrs. Tabootie said. "Something regarding Snap."

At this, Rudy and Penny froze. Something about Snap? What..what did she mean? What does that entail? The way Mrs. Tabootie said it, it sounded so ominous, like something was wrong. The thought sent chills p their spine. They tried to calm themselves down, but they couldn't help but feel something was amiss here. After what happened to Snap...

But Dr. Lyson didn't make any kind of menacing move or any indication that something was going to happen to Snap. She didn't look like she had heard horrible news regarding Terry and Vinnie escaping prison, or any scientists coming after Snap. Maybe what she had to talk about wasn't really that bad. Maybe she just wanted to check up on Snap. She hadn't visited too much, but she had been busy, especially with finding another job. So they understood why she hadn't come much. And the times she did come, she seemed genuinely concerned for Snap.

After Rudy calmed down his heart, he said, "Oh? Was there something in particular you wanted to tell us?"

Dr. Lyson nodded her head. "Yes. But I'd...rather do it privately." The woman turned her head to Mrs. Tabootie. "Do you mind...?"

Mrs. Tabootie looked at her in confusion. Then she soon understood what she wanted and nodded her head. "Oh, of course!" She turned around and walked out of the room. "I'll be downstairs if you need me." With that, she shut the door behind her, leaving the others in the room together.

Rudy felt a nervous feeling rise up inside of him. He fought back against it, reminding himself of who this was. But he still couldn't shake off the uncomfortableness when he realized Dr. Lyson wanted to talk to him alone. There had to be a reason for it, but the only thing that would make sense is if it's something she didn't want his parents to hear. If she knew about ChalkZone, that would make sense. The idea of her knowing about that place sent cold chills up his spine, but he calmed himself when he remembered that the woman didn't know about that place. So that couldn't be the reason for why she wanted to see them alone.

But..what other reason could there be? If she didn't want his mom to know about what she wanted to say, it had to be something she felt his mom and dad wouldn't like or could react badly to. This realization made his heart tighten up. There was a strong chance that, whatever Dr. Lyson wanted to talk to them about, it wasn't anything good.

Dr. Lyson looked around the room slowly, her eyes taking in the details. She looked like she was trying to find something...or someone one. She soon turned her head back to Rudy and Penny. Her eye were furrowed not in menace, but in confusion. "Isn't Snap here?"

Rudy bit his lip. A part of him wanted to say no. But another part of him thought that maybe it was best he brought Snap out. It wasn't like Dr. Lyson was going to tell his mom that Snap was here. Family business and all. He opened his mouth to speak, but just gave a silent nod of the head. He looked over towards the closet and said, "Snap! You can come on out! Dr. Lyson wants to see you!"

Slowly, the closet door was opened. The blue and white zoner walked out, holding his right arm to his body a little. Upon seeing Dr. Lyson, the zoner's eyes brightened and he smiled. He walked towards her, waving his left hand at her in greeting. She waved back at him, offering a smile of her own. Rudy took note of how nervous it looked, but he tried to push it aside.

"Hey!" Snap called out, grinning at Dr. Lyson. "Why did you want to see me?"

"Well, I kind of wanted to see all of you." Dr. Lyson spread her arms out to indicate them. "I was worried that you three would be apart and I'd have to come to you more than once. But now that I have all three of you here together, I can get this done and over with." She furrowed her eyes slightly, biting her lip. "This..isn't going to be easy for me to do."

Worry and anxiety spread through the trio. They looked at each other nervously, wondering what the woman was talking about. The feelings of fear returned, and the three waited anxiously for whatever the woman had to say, whatever news she had come to bring them.

"I'll cut right to the chase. No need to pad things out." Dr. Lyson said. She paused, hesitating for a couple seconds. "Do you three remember what I said about the vial of Snap's blood that Vinnie and Terry took?"

Penny nodded her head. "Yeah, we remember that."

Snap pointed a round hand at the woman. "I recall you telling us that you destroyed it.

"Well..." Dr. Lyson bit her lip harder, fumbling with her fingers nervously. This sent worry and dread through the trio's minds. "I..kind of lied..." She admitted, her voice dripping with shame.

"You..what?" Penny cried, straightening her body in shock.

Rudy couldn't believe what he heard. "Why...did you...?"

"I am sorry. I know I shouldn't have lied. That was bad of me, and I apologize." Dr. Lyson said. She looked left and right, her mind sifting through her thoughts. She looked at them, a bit of regret and sadness in her eyes. "I took the blood back to my place. I have a small lab there, and I..." She closed her eyes, letting out a low growl of disgust, showing contempt for what she had done. "I tested the blood myself."

The trio felt their hearts freeze, ice shooting through their bodies. They took a step back, their bodies begining to shiver in fear and shock. They stared at the woman in horror, unable to believe what they had heard. All this time, they thought they could trust this woman. But she went behind their backs..they took Snap's blood...and she had tested it. She had done the one thing that they were trying to prevent. She, a scientist, had tested Snap's blood.

The implications of this were very obvious. They could see it in her eyes. She hadn't outright said it, but there was only one outcome that was possible. She was a scientist; she would know what she was doing. She would be able to tell the internal structure of the blood, to note the different details. The weight of this truth filled their bodies with vile poisin, making them feel sick. They hoped and prayed that it wasn't the case, but they knew that they weren't going to have that much luck.

"You..tested...my...blood...?" Snap asked slowly and carefully. He looked up at the woman, his expression yielding disappointment, fear, and betrayal. Dr. Lyson stared at him, and nodded her head. "Wh-Why..?"

"Yeah..how could you?" Rudy asked, his eyes narrowed. "You promised you..."

"I don't feel comfortable with breaking the promise, either, Rudy. I was..compelled to find out for myself. I do not feel pride in what I did, though." Dr. Lyson said. She lowered her head and turned it to the side. "I know I broke my trust in you. I was prepared for this kind of reaction. But, if you let me, I still have more to say."

Rudy narrowed his eyes a little more. A part of him didn't want to hear anything more this woman had to say. But he knew he was being a little too hard on her. She did apologize for it and she didn't look happy about what she did. And at least she came here to confess in person instead of writing a letter or leaving a voice mail or something. Coming in person did take a lot of courage, so he had to give her some credit for that.

"Okay then. Speak." Rudy said. He couldn't believe how cold he sounded. He shook his head and spoke again, this time making an effort not to sound as bitter. "Please..continue."

Snap spoke up next. His voice was fear-filled, his eyes widened. "What did you find out?"

Dr. Lyson stared at the three children. She saw how expectant they were, waiting for her to answer. She looked away for a few seconds. Then she looked back at them, her expression all but confirming what they suspected even before she spoke. "My tests showed that Snap's blood is not consistant with any blood I had seen before. The structure was different, and looked more like...something else entirely." She paused for a moment. "I...wasn't sure what to make of it at first, but through more testing, I was able to confirm it." She took a step forward. "Snap's blood has the same consistency...as chalk."

Rudy, Penny, and Snap gasped at this, moving a step back. Their hearts raced, pounding against their chests. They silently hoped that they had heard wrong, that the woman would say something else. Anything else. But all she did was give them a sorrowful expression, and spoke in a guilty tone of voice.

"I know your friend is made of chalk."

Rudy felt like his world was falling apart. Everything around him grew dark and he was only aware of this woman and his friends. It felt like they were in a black void, and they had no way to escape. He stared at Dr. Lyson in horror, still unbelieving she had actually done this. Of all the things...why? Why this, after all this time? Snap had just made a fantastic progress in his recovery, and now he was terrified all over again. He looked at his friend sympathetically, watching him shiver. Just when they thought that everything was taken care of, something like this happened.

Rudy couldn't believe it. Why did this have to happen? Why did Snap have to be brought back down like this? Why couldn't everything just continue going back to normal? Vinnie and Terry were big enough problems. They didn't need something else. They didn't need something like this breaking their good mood. Now they had something else to worry about, a new problem.

Dr. Lyson herself...

What were they going to do? He glanced over at Penny. But she could provide no ideas, no comfort, nothing. She was just as lot as he was. Nervousness practically flowed from her face, and her body shook in horror. Rudy looked back at Dr. Lyson, many thoughts swimming through his head. What was going to happen now? It wasn't like they could come up with a lie or anything. She saw Snap's blood on a microscopic scale. She knew that his blood was chalk. He could deny it all he wanted to, but she had the data. She had proof the chalk blood was Snap's. No amount of denial would change that.

Rudy couldn't stop shivering. What was going to happen now? What was Dr. Lyson going to do? He stared at the woman fearfully, his heart pounding against his chest. Humans weren't going to treat zoners very well, just for being drawings. They were likely to treat them like Vinnie and Terry did. Lower than dirt... Was Dr. Lyson going to be the same way? What did she have planned?

"I've known this for a while now. I'm sorry I didn't get back to you sooner, but..." Dr. Lyson paused, clenching her teeth. "I was trying to think of a way to tell you and I.." She closed her eyes. "It was still no excuse though. I should have been more honest with you and I wasn't and... Well I'm sorry. "She stared at Rudy and Penny with regretful eyes. "I'm so sorry."

Dread snaking up his spine, Rudy took a step forward and, fumbling his fingers and his head slightly low, he said, "Well..wh-what are you going to do...?"

"What's going to..happen to me?" Snap asked, fear overflowing on his voice.

"Y-You're not going to..." Penny's voice trailed off. It was clear she couldn't bring herself to say it. "..are you..?"

Dr. Lyson stared at them. Her eyes furrowed slightly, then they relaxed. She closed her eyes and shook her head. "No..I'm not." She reopened them and looked down at the children. She noted their expressions and said, "I understand that you three are confused and frightene by my decisions. I am sorry that I scared you." She looked down at Snap and took a few steps towards him. "When I saw your friend being hurt by those assholes, I didn't care that he might be made of chalk, because all I saw was a little boy in agony. Him being made of chalk was not my concern. I just wanted to get him out of there."

Dr. Lyson knelt down in front of Snap. She looked into his wide, fear-filled eyes. She stared at him for a few seconds before she continued.

"Even now, that detail doesn't matter to me. I was simply curious...if Terry and Vinnie were right or not. But I assure you..." Dr. Lyson reached out and toouched Snap's cheek gently. "That doesn't change my opinion of your friend." The woman gave Snap a sympathetic smile and moved her head a little close to his. "You didn't deserve what you got there, Snap. It doesn't matter that you're made of chalk. You...didn't deserve to be hurt like that." A few tears formed in her eyes. She wiped them away before placed her hands on his shoulders. "I'm sorry I didn't get you out sooner. If I knew..what they would have done..." Her voice trailed off as she pulled Snap into a hug.

Snap's eyes widened at this, his body stiffening. Then he returned the hug. Rudy and Penny watched as the woman embraced their friend. As they saw her gently nuzzle Snap on the side of his face, growing relief began to spread through their stomachs, putting out the fire that the fear had started. There was still some uncertainty, but they felt an enormous weight lift from them when they realized that Dr. Lyson still treated their friend like a person even after she found out he was made of chalk.

That was the reaction they hoped anyone who met a zoner would have. Sadly, many like Vinnie and Terry would see zoners as less than people due to being drawings. This was one of the biggest reasons they kept ChalkZone safe. If more people would react like Dr. Lyson... They knew it was just hopeful, wishful thinking. They knew that it would take a miracle to get anyone, whose mind was already made up, to accept zoners as people. That was why it came as such as shock, and relief, that Dr. Lyson had taken that stance on her own, without needing them to beg her to see reason.

Dr. Lyson turned her head, her arms still wrapped around their friend. "I know what you two are going to ask me next, so I'll answer right away." She glanced down at Snap, then turned her attention back to Rudy and Penny. "I will not tell anyone about Snap's blood being chalk. I know you're still hurt about me lying to you. But...I promise that I won't tell anyone. Your secret is safe with me."

"It is...?" Snap asked, his eyes wide in surprise.

"You're telling the truth?" Rudy asked hopefully. "Y-You won't tell anyone?"

Dr. Lyson pulled back away from Snap. She still kept her hand looped around him, her arm pressed against him lightly in a half hug. She reached down and stroked Snap's head gently. "Of course not." She looked over and smiled at Rudy and Penny. "It's not like anyone will believe me anyway. But I promise, I won't tell a soul about this."

Penny took a step forward. "What made you..?"

"Simple. I already saw just how alive your friend was. That wound..." Dr. Lyson's voice trailed off, biting her lip. She closed her eyes, reliving the horrific memories. Snap looked nervous. He, too, was remembering that painful and terrifying event. The woman reopened her eyes. "There was no way it could have been a fake. It was too real.. I saw it all upclose. And his screaming and crying.." She touched his cheek gently. "I don't care if your friend is a drawing or not. He's real enough to me. And if that is how many people will treat him if they find out what he is..." She closed her eyes and shook her head. She looked over and stared at Rudy and Penny. "Then I don't want to be the cause of it."

Rudy and Penny approached the woman slowly. They were still a little cautious. They didn't know if Dr. Lyson would end up changing her mind in the future. But for now, they appreciated that she was willing to keep this a secret. They were both still a little upset that she had lied to them. But she sounded so sincere right now. She had the perfect chance to hurt Snap and take him away, but she didn't. She had been nothing but kind to their friend, and this fact didn't appear to change even while knowing that he was made of chalk.

A part of them felt relieved. They hadn't been able to trust anyone else with ChalkZone's secret. They never knew who could be trusthworthy and who wasn't. Even telling their parents was a huge risk. They just..couldn't afford it. They had done a good job with keeping people from finding out. Though two people did, Vinnie and Terry, they had no access to the world. They were still a danger, but right now they were in jail, and of no threat to ChalkZone. Reggie got into ChalkZone once, but he wound up dismissing it as a dream.

But sometimes, the stress of keeping it a secret was too much. They had no allies in the real world. If something were to go wrong, they had only each other. This sometimes becomes a problem. It was during these times that they wish they did have someone else they could talk to. Someone whom they could trust... and it seems like they finally found someone else.

Rudy spoke up. "Thank you...for understanding." He smiled.

Penny nodded her head, smiling as well. "We really appreciate it. I hope you understand why we can't tell anyone about this."

Dr. Lyson nodded her head. "Yeah, I understand. I imagine there would be people who would do what Terry and Vinnie did...or worse..." Her voice trailed off. Seeing Snap's expression, she said, "Sorry."

"I'm fine. Don't worry." Snap said, trying his best to sound brave. Even after all this time, he was sometimes still shaken by the events two months ago. "I'm just glad that's over. I don't want to know what else those scientists would have done to me."

"I can assure you that it would have gotten worse after that." Dr. Lyson said sadly, her eyes downcast. She stayed like this for a few momenths, before lifting her head back up. "Well, I don't want to bring down your mood, so let's just skip that for now."

"Yeah, good idea." Penny said, looking sympathetically at Snap.

Rudy agreed. He didn't feel it was a good idea to talk more about what happened a few months ago. Not right now. They were all still pretty shaken by the news of what Dr. Lyson did. They could talk more about this later, if it becomes a necessity. There was always a chance that those scientists could come back. If any of them believed Snap really was chalk...

He shook his head, not wanting to think about it. He shouldn't bring himself down like that. The scientists were arrested, just like Vinnie and Terry. Though their sentences were shorter, he didn't have to worry about them for a long time. Now was the time that he and his friends should relax and try to have some fun. They shouldn't panic over something that likely wasn't going to happen. He knew that no good would come out of getting themselves all panicky.

"If you two don't mind me asking..."

Rudy, Penny, and Snap looked up at Dr. Lyson expectantly.

"Just, where does your friend come from?" Dr. Lyson asked. "I'm positive it's not earth. Lifeforms can't be made of chalk here."

The trio froze at this question. Despite their best efforts to calm themselves down, they felt a cold feeling rise inside their bodies. It was one thing for her to find out Snap was made of chalk. That could have had far more disastrous results. But finding out about ChalkZone... That would lead to worse consequences. The powera creator would wield... Even if she promised not to tell anyone Snap was made of chalk, would they be able to trust her with a secret as big as ChalkZone?

Penny didn't think so. "I think we're going a little too fast..."

"Yeah. I mean, we don't know if..." Rudy's voice trailed off. He wasn't sure exactly how to word it.

"What my friends are trying to say is that we think we should wait before we tell you everything." Snap said carefully. "I..hope you understand."

Dr. Lyson stared at them for a few moments. She then pulled Snap a little closer. "Don't worry. I understand. No need to rush."

Rudy smiled. "Thank you."

"No problem, kid." Dr. Lyson said. She looked down at Snap, and then back at Rudy and Penny. She then reached into her pocket and fumbled around. She pulled out something. Some kind of white card. She extended her arm and handed it to Rudy. "If you ever need my help, just call that number."

Rudy stared at the card. He said, "Okay. If we ever think we need your assistance, we'll call you."

"If we can." Penny added.

"Right." Rudy almost forgot that they may not always have a phone available, or even get alone during that time. "If."

"If you can't call me, I understand. Just, remember I'll do what I can to help, if you ever need it." Dr. Lyson said. "You can trust me."

Overcome with emotion, feeling it move through their bodies rapidly, Rudy and Penny approached Dr. Lyson. The woman raised her arm and put it around them. The two children found themselves joining in the embrace, pressed against Snap. Dr. Lyson hugged them tightly, but gently. Rudy, Penny, and Snap returned the hug the best they could, feeling the warmth spreading throughout them.

As they hugged, Rudy reflected on what has changed the past couple months. Snap was kidnapped and tortured, his arm broken. He was soon rescued by Dr. Lyson, the only scientist in that forsaken building who showed Snap any mercy. He and Penny got Snap the help he needed, but soon after, they were threatened by Vinnie and Terry. Thanks to Dr. Lyson's interference, they were caught and thrown into jail. Snap's arm has made a remarkable recovery. And now Dr. Lyson showed up, demonstrating that, while she knew that he was made of chalk, she still saw him as a fellow sentient being, and promised that she wouldn't tell anyone. She had become something they could have used a long time ago: a real world ally.

"Thank you so much..." Rudy whispered, happiness filling his very core. Penny and Snap expressed the same joy. "For all that you've done... and thank you so much for your understanding."

Dr. Lyson smiled. "You're welcome."

Rudy smiled. Somehow, he knew that things were just going to continue looking up from here. He knew, deep down, things weren't going to be exactly the same as they were before. They were going to be better.


End file.
